Approaching six months since the rampage of Hurricane Melissa and, as we careen through April, the elephant in the room is that we are now just six weeks away from the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

Prior to Category 5 Melissa in late October last year there was Hurricane Beryl, which brushed southern Jamaica with devastating effect in early July 2024.

Before that was the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, undermining economies and normal life for two years.

Today, we are up against what, for most of us, is a conflict that makes zero sense involving the USA/Israel and Iran.

That on-and-off war in the Middle East, which began in late February when the USA and Israel attacked Iran, is thousands of miles away but it is negatively affecting Jamaicans and other people everywhere. That’s because it is curtailing production and distribution of oil and related products.

The indisputable truth is that, even in an age when renewable energy, not least solar, is increasingly being talked about and utilised, oil and its offshoots remain the lifeblood for industry, commerce, and everyday activities.

There is a growing sense among the least economically favoured in Jamaica that they are backed up against a high wall fighting for their lives.

So, the lament from president of the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) Mr Garnett Reid that, “this is crisis after crisis” resonates across the length and breadth of this country.

Mr Reid reminds us that many small business people — and we suspect a few big ones — have “not yet come out of” Beryl and Melissa, “then we have the Middle East crisis. Then we are up on the 2026 hurricane season [June 1 to November 30]. God forbid… we don’t have another hurricane”.

A big fear being expressed by Mr Reid and we suspect a growing number of business people is the messaging — based on recent comments from Energy Minister Mr Daryl Vaz — that the Government may be contemplating mandatory curtailment of movement as an energy-saving measure.

Mr Reid tells us that the SBAJ is not in support of such steps to cut costs.

We agree. For us, the far more sensible thing to do is to creatively and innovatively encourage commerce and industry so our people can continue to earn, while at the same time building resilience as best we can.

Crucially, Jamaicans and their leaders can’t end or prevent conflicts in the Middle East, nor can we prevent natural disasters. But by our actions we can — even if only in small ways — reduce their impact.

Energy conservation at home, on the road, at the workplace, at school, at entertainment centres must become the watchword for all Jamaicans.

Half a century ago that’s precisely what happened as our people responded to the crippling oil crisis of that time.

Carpooling was one such measure, as was intense public education across political administrations in the 1970s and 80s.

Today, with the 2026 hurricane season around the corner, the authorities must also make sure that to the extent it’s humanly possible, gullies, drains, and waterways are cleaned to prevent flooding; that designated emergency shelters are ready and equipped, et al.

Citizens must also be prepared to help themselves and their neighbours. They can’t simply drop their hands while depending on Government.

There is no other way but self-help in our time of ongoing crises.