Hiring Jamaican workers a positive form of hurricane relief says JLS chief Althea Riley

Jamaican resident and SAWP participant Mark Hutchinson (second from left) pictured along with Dalton White Farms’ Rebecca Compton (third from left) during the latter’s pre-Hurricane Melissa visit to his South Manchester home. Hutchinson lost all his crops during the tropical storm’s destructive passage.

By Jeff Tribe

It was anything but a barrel of laughs.

But a 50-gallon shipping container provided a welcome layer of protection as Hurricane Melissa destroyed Dwayne Demontagnac’s Black River-area, Jamaica house around him.

“I was very fearful for my life because the roof went away,” recalled Demontagnac via phone from Jamaica. “All of the board structure broke down, the roof, everything. 

“So, I had to resort to the bathroom.”

Melissa ‘whistled’ in around 9 a.m. he said, kicking off a nine-hour period where survival was of paramount concern, if far from guaranteed.

“I get the rain, the wind - a thing like a tornado.”

His house was mainly ‘board structure’, although with a concrete block bathroom. As the former disintegrated, he retreated to the comparative security of the latter, crawling into the barrel as the safest place of the moment, objects flying through the air around him.

“I was like hoping and praying. That was the most fearsome part of my life.”

As Melissa finally passed around 6 p.m., Demontagnac emerged to a ravaged landscape. Board structures were largely destroyed, concrete buildings in the main, surviving.

“There was no grass, no branches on the trees, no leaves… nothing. It was terrible.”

Four months later, electricity still hasn’t been restored in the area, ‘every little breeze’ re-igniting the trauma.

“We are just recuperating,” said Demontagnac. “Still living in fear, still living in fear.”

Mark Hutchinson, who works for Dalton White Farms near Delhi through the Seasonal Agriculture Workers Program (SAWP) lives in South Manchester, his farm offering a beautiful view of the Caribbean Sea. Its elevated perspective also meant it bore the brunt of Melissa, slamming into the surrounding countryside with incredible force.

“It was more than horrible,” said Hutchinson via telephone from South Manchester. He also rode out Hurricane Ivan’s destruction in 2004. “But this is the worst one.”

The wind and rain were horrific he said, a combined barrage that went on and on.

“Like it’s never going to stop.”

Melissa was described as a category five hurricane Hutchinson said.

“To me, this was like category 10.”

He considers himself fortunate that his house survived, albeit with water damage. His crops were not so fortunate, watermelon, sweet pepper and tomato plants wiped out entirely.

“Everything - I lose everything. Put me right back at zero.”

The level of destruction reminded Hutchinson of scenes he’s viewed from bombed out sections of the Middle East.

“That’s how it looked.”

The first recovery efforts were clearing the road so food, water and medical care could be accessed. Electrical service was restored roughly a month ago. Hutchinson has tried to replant his crops, but cold weather has hampered the effort.

“So I’m going to sit it out a while.”

Others in the area are in similar or worse situations.

“Roof gone, farm gone,” he said. “They are starting back over again.

“It’s not easy.”

“A lot of hard work,” said Demontagnac.

Norman Smith, who also works at Dalton White Farms, recently returned for his 19th season of employment through the program. Melissa did not strike the entire island equally and his Portland-area home was fortunate to escape the hurricane’s worst impact. In travelling through Jamaica however, he has seen its destruction, roads mostly cleared by now.

“But you still can see debris.”

Canvas (tent) structures are being used as temporary housing said Smith, although that is not a preferred option for residents whose homes were destroyed. Few people have insurance he said, an option largely afforded only by the affluent. In what seems a particularly unfair twist of fate, some of the men and women who have made the huge sacrifice to come to Canada and work in order to move their families forward, are facing the cruel reality of having to start over again, literally from ground zero.

“It’s really crazy, but what you have to do,” said Smith. “People have to have strong thoughts and be resilient to build again.”

Jamaican Liaison Service (JLS) Chief Liaison Officer Althea Riley expressed her appreciation for relief responses beginning in the hurricane’s immediate aftermath. Items were collected at farms near Simcoe and in the Niagara, Chatham-Kent and Meaford/Clarksburg areas and shipped south. Employers also made individual contributions to their workers in cash and kind. 

“Thank-you for your support,” she said.

JLS staff from Canada were among those involved post-Melissa, working in Jamaica for two months assessing damage and helping coordinate relief efforts. They have now returned here in order to fulfil their duties with workers planning to return to their seasonal jobs. 

As the effort to rebuild continues, Riley emphasized the impact and importance employing Jamaicans through SAWP represents. Foreign remittances rank as the second-highest budgetary line item in terms of Jamaican economics, following tourism. A big part of this is attributed to remittances from farm workers. Wages earned in Norfolk County and across Canada by approximately 10,000 Jamaicans are economic drivers in communities throughout their country, enhancing financial security, educating students and providing funds for construction.

In arrears of Hurricane Melissa’s path of destruction, the ‘win-win’ reality for both Canadian farmers and offshore employees from that nation has been re-emphasized. In conclusion, Riley encouraged Canadian employers of SAWP participants to consider more farm labourers from her country, thereby supporting its recovery journey by helping in workers’ efforts to help themselves. 

“The way we are going to rebuild is through employing Jamaican workers.” 