THE Government is preparing to use the planned relocation of Parottee residents in St Elizabeth as a test of whether vulnerable Jamaican communities can be moved out of harm’s way without sacrificing their livelihoods, dignity, or sense of community.

Signalling the urgency of that effort, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has ordered the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) to make the project a priority.

Speaking during Tuesday’s official launch of the Jamaica Reconstruction and Resilience Oversight Committee (JAMRROC) at Jamaica House, Holness said relocation would be an unavoidable part of Jamaica’s post-Hurricane Melissa rebuilding effort, particularly for communities where development has taken place in areas exposed to repeated disaster risks.

He said Parottee would provide an opportunity to demonstrate that such a process could be carried out through consultation rather than simply imposed upon residents.

The prime minister acknowledged that moving Parottee residents would be difficult because of their deep attachment to the community and the livelihoods tied to the area, particularly for people who have lived there for generations.

“The people of Parottee, I visited them just after the hurricane and I could detect that there is a strong sense of community. You know, community, it is not just your connection with the people who live around you. Community is also the connection to the place, the land where you live — and I know a lot of people are not going to want to move,” he acknowledged.

When Holness first announced plans to relocate Parottee following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa some residents subsequently pushed back, insisting that they wanted to remain in the community and rebuild there.

Their resistance has centred partly on the importance of the sea to their livelihoods and the community’s long-standing connection to the area.

However, during Tuesday’s launch Holness sought to frame relocation not as a simple order to leave, but as a process in which residents must be shown why moving is necessary and given confidence that they will not be disadvantaged.

“You may believe that you can withstand the storm and you would be able to stay there for the rest of your life. Oftentimes, that is not the case. Oftentimes, the damage is such that you are not able to recover at that location, even when you remain, and so the quality of life that you have after a disaster event continues to decline and the community continues to decline. So a part of our rebuilding will necessarily mean relocations, and that has to be done — however, in a way that is respectful,” he explained.

That approach, he said, would require the State to make the case with evidence and engage residents before any move is made. Holness said NaRRA has already begun that process in Parottee, including consultation with residents and social surveys.

He also pointed to a presentation by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) as particularly influential in showing residents the risks facing the community. According to Holness, the presentation brought together evidence of potential future damage, existing damage, and the historical pattern of vulnerability.

“It is the intention of the Government to use the Parottee situation to show that Government can work with the citizens, with the people of the country, to execute in a way that is respectful, dignified, and [entails] fair relocation exercises. So I have said to the chief executing officer of NaRRA [Antony Anderson] that he must execute the Parottee relocation project as a matter of urgency. It must be a priority project and it must be done in the most respectful way, in the way that preserves the dignity of the people and where no one is being worse off by the relocation,” he added.