There is an outpouring of care in the communities hard hit by Hurricane Beryl, but recovery will be a long process.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries posted on social media: “One of the things that surprise people when they visit St Bess after Beryl is the extent of the damage. It’s not one or two communities, in SW alone I have 15 communities that have been severely impacted. Not only houses but two clinics, two ECIs, five primary Schools, one High School.”

There is similar damage in Westmoreland, Hanover, Manchester, and Clarendon. It is heartening that local and international alumnae associations for Munro College and Manning’s School have immediately begun fund-raising activities to repair these historic schools.

Food For the Poor Jamaica, Jamaica Red Cross, Breds Treasure Beach Foundation, JPS Foundation, Digicel Foundation have been busy on the ground and will welcome any help they can get. With the NCB Michael Lee-Chin offer of matching funds, any amount donated to Breds will be matched by NCB. The American Friends of Jamaica, members of the Jamaican Diaspora, and the US Embassy are also assisting.

Our utility companies have been facing hazards as they work non-stop to restore power, water, and phone connectivity. Those of us in Kingston, St Andrew, and other parishes which largely escaped Beryl should recall the destruction of Gilbert and Ivan to understand what many rural areas are facing, trying to cope without power and water. It is hard to be without basic utilities, but compared to the Gilbert experience, significant progress is being made.

Our farms and roads will require billions of dollars for repair and rebuilding. Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that 25,000 kilometres of roads, including 5,000 kilometres of main roads, have been damaged and will require $10.25 billion in funding. The $40-billion Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network (SPARK) programme will help to cover road repairs but also must be used for pre-existing dangerous road conditions.

Jamaica Information Service has reported some good news: “Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke on Monday [July 8)] announced that Jamaica’s Tropical Cyclone Policy with the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) has triggered a payment following the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

“Dr Clarke said the Government received a Preliminary Modelled Loss and Policy Payment Report from the CCRIF, which stated that a payment of approximately US$16.3 million or $2.5 billion would be made… On July 5, he advised that the Government initiated the process to access funds under a Contingent Credit Claim with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).”

We need to tone down the politicking and nitpicking. This is a time to put aside politics and to put our energy into bringing comfort to our suffering Jamaican family.

Focus on the elderly

As we at CCRP, the seniors advocacy organisation, engaged with the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC), we learnt from Executive Chair Cassandra Morrison that conditions for the elderly were dire. “St Elizabeth looks like ground zero,” she said. “Things are very bad for the older citizens.”

Providence has been in the mix. In April CCRP had booked $500,000 worth of care packages from Food For the Poor, our biannual outreach to needy elders. We shared the work of CCRP with Sandals Group Executive Chair Adam Stewart in January and he asked us to get in touch with the Sandals Foundation for assistance. Before Beryl developed, we wrote to the foundation CEO Heidi Clarke and Kayla Innis, requesting bed linen and towels. Would you believe that they gave us 100 sets of each item, ready for collection just as Beryl hit?

It was such a large donation that the NCSC representatives who collected them had to bring two cars. A grateful Cassandra Morrison said they had been able to source mattresses for the elderly but no linen. She remarked on the timeliness of our gifts.

I received a call also from Charmaine Daniels, CEO of Digicel Foundation. “We’re heading to St Elizabeth in the morning and we will reserve care packages for the elderly.” The NCSC St Elizabeth officer, Marieck Hendricks Morgan, was right on hand at the Black River High School to collect them.

Food For the Poor has been lauding the many donors who have come on board and made a call for volunteers to pack out food and personal care items. We made an appeal to CCRP members and they immediately came on board. They have been assisting at the Food For the Poor facilities over the past weekend.

Jamaica no longer on “grey list”

Jamaica Observer business writer David Rose wrote an excellent piece entitled ‘Explainer: Why is Jamaica leaving the ‘grey list’ important?’ For us to be dropped from this grey list, less serious than the ‘blacklist’ by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is welcome news, particularly for the financial and business sectors. FATF has stringent standards for anti-money laundering (AML), anti-terrorism financing (ATF), and proliferation financing (PF). The definition of PF is “the act of providing financial services or funds to people or groups that may use them to develop, purchase, or spread chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. It can also include the use of related materials, such as technologies and dual-use goods, which have both civilian and military uses.”

Rose wrote, “The biggest implication from being on the ‘blacklist’ comes from the potential loss of correspondent banking from international partners. Correspondent banking is what allows for a country like Jamaica to purchase oil, import goods and ability to interact with the rest of the global financial system.”

We are proud that the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) and the Jamaica Bankers Association (JBA) redoubled their efforts to close any loopholes for corrupt practices. The BOJ noted in a statement, “This action has significant positive implications for the country’s reputation in the international financial community. The development will enhance confidence among investors and trading partners, thereby improving Jamaica’s economic potential.”

The JBA said, “The financial institutions played a pivotal role in the achievement of this result and the country’s compliance with 37 of the 40 FATF recommendations. The industry will continue to work with all key stakeholders to ensure ongoing compliance to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.”

Biden Age Debate

Being connected to a seniors organization, we are watching with interest the debate over whether US President Joe Biden, at 81 years old, is a suitable candidate for the upcoming November US presidential election. This became a hot topic after the debate with former US President Donald Trump, which saw Biden stuttering and seeming to lose his train of thought. In the weeks before the debate, Biden has made several transatlantic flights to participate in conferences and seemed tired. Meanwhile a
New York Times reporter alleged that they counted 26 lies in Trump’s presentation.

Despite Biden’s statesmanlike hosting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Conference last week, campaign funders, some of his fellow Democratic representatives and influencers like George Clooney, have called for him to step away from the candidacy. Biden has been defiant in his response at last week’s press conference, and last Friday gave one of his best speeches at a Detroit Rally to rousing applause.

We wait to hear if the funders will reconsider and if the polls will have a more positive prediction for Biden. There is fear that the so-called Project 2025 created by Trump advisors could cause radical change to the country’s constitution and the return of internment of minorities. Even for us who do not live in the US, the tension is palpable. We watch and wait.

Jean Lowrie-Chin is the founder of CCRP, the 30th anniversary legacy project of her company, PROComm. Send comments to lowriechin@aim.com.