A firm believer in the saying ‘God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers, ’ Member of Parliament (MP) for St Elizabeth South West, Floyd Green, says he is confident that the ‘bread basket’ parish will rebound from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.

Green, who is also minister of agriculture and fisheries, says having been hammered by two hurricanes in as many years, the parish is facing challenging times. He expressed that as MP and minister, he has been showing up in strength over the past few weeks, but admits this season has been particularly trying.

“It’s been a heartbreaking experience because when you think about how much people lost and how hard they’ve worked, especially on this side of Jamaica, and all of that was gone in less than a day. It was a traumatic experience, but at the end of the day, as their representative and leader, I realised that I just have to lead. I had to put everything aside and try to serve as many people as possible,” he said.

Green was speaking with Observer Online at the Food, Rum and Reggae Benefit concert held at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Complex on Sunday. Originally scheduled for St Elizabeth from November 7-9, the event was postponed following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Rather than cancelling the festival altogether, organisers decided to pivot and host the event in aid of ongoing relief efforts in the parish. Part proceeds from the festival will be going specifically to the rebuilding of the agricultural sector.

Green, in highlighting how challenging it has been since Melissa’s passage, said the agricultural sector in particular was just recovering from Hurricane Beryl in 2024 when devastation struck yet again. He shared that while he has been focused on just doing the work as the people’s representative, he would have preferred if things had a different outcome.

“Clearly, we would not have wanted to go through this again, and especially so soon after Beryl, but sometimes dem say God gives the strongest soldiers the hardest battles, so we just have to keep fighting,” he said.

“This time around was particularly hard because where I was staying in Black River was destroyed, so it’s been doubly hard, but you must keep your family close, your friends close, so you have that support group that will continue to encourage you and give you those words of advice that are so important,” he continued. “Outside of that, I just try to focus on understanding that at the end of the day, I have to be there for people, that’s what we sign up for, and we just have to keep it going. It’s not easy, there is no silver bullet point, but every day you wake up, you give thanks, and you keep working.”

– Shereita Grizzle