Dear Editor,

At first I ignored it, chalking it up to yet another example of journalistic sensationalism. After all, the news of the world’s most beloved island nation being under threat by a Category 5 hurricane is enough to turn the attention of the world from the doom of mindless social media scrolling for a few minutes. But as the news of Hurricane Melissa’s trajectory became more widespread I began to believe that what was happening was a bit more sinister.

They came in droves to the island, some in order to chase an adrenaline high, but the majority to report on what has been called the “storm of the century”. Thus it began: reporters in jackets, standing beside known landmarks, or walking along recognisable streets in the nation’s capital, speaking rapidly as they listed the reasons this storm would be so important and the meteorological facts that showed that this storm would be the end of Jamaica, land we love.

Over and over phrases like “Jamaica as we know it will cease to exist”; “Jamaica is done for”; “Their infrastructure can’t withstand it”; and my personal favourite, “The hurricane will plunge the island into social degradation” were repeated without an iota of real sympathy or compassion, even misinformation at times. It was then that it dawned on me that I had seen this play out before: They were trying to “Haiti-fy” us.

I use this term with the utmost respect to our island neighbour, not only because of the role that Haiti has played in black and Caribbean liberation and identity, but because of the many friends I treasure from that nation. While it is true that “Ayiti Cherie” has been dealt a bad hand by both internal and external origins, not to mention repeated lashings by natural disasters, the best gossip is that of a messy situation gone worse, and whether we like it or not, our ears tend to perk up and our heads inadvertently incline to hear what other calamity has befallen “poor Haiti” when the headlines are published.

Similarly, the verbiage being used almost seemed as if the foreign media wanted us to be destroyed so that their news cycle could have another account of yet another Caribbean developing nation going through difficult times so they can say, “Aww, bless their hearts,” before another story becomes the subject of the next nine-day news cycle. It was much too reminiscent of the biblical account of the prophet Jonah perched high above the city of Nineveh just itching to see the calamity he hoped would befall the people there.

And while Jamaica may be compared to Nineveh in some respects — our crime rate that continues to skyrocket as well as the lawlessness and indiscipline that unfortunately seem to be a part of the fabric of Jamaican life — just like Nineveh, through God’s mercies, we have not been destroyed, and we live to fight another day.

To the Almighty who spared our lives, even in the face of the devastation to the southern and western parts of the island, we offer our deepest gratitude, knowing that it is He who continues to give our island chance after chance. To the foreign media who watched us closely over these last 24 hours, lips salivating at the thought of our island being utterly destroyed by this natural phenomenon, we say “Abayyy! Likkle but tallawah” is here to stay.

What is next for Jamaica? Who knows. But as we band together to help those most affected by Hurricane Melissa we know that we will rise once more.

Olivia Valentine

jamexican484@gmail.com