It has affected us all!

We Jamaicans are scattered throughout the world. Two things remain true about us though.

 Firstly, no matter how far away from home we migrate to, most of of hang on for dear life to our Jamaican roots. 

Secondly, many of us either received a devastating blow from the most vicious hurricane to crash into the Caribbean, destroying much of the south west section of our beautiful island home, or have friends/family who were.

 That was hurricane Melissa which struck on October 28 2025. (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/11/i-weep-for-black-rivervictims.html?m=1)

In our family, those who received the worst blow were my 91 year old cousin Nellie a retired teacher, and her 92 year old husband.

Third from right, 91 year old Nellie, beside her is 92 year old husband EV, and beside him my cousin Dor, who keeps the family fire burning on the island👍.


When our African ancestors were freed from slavery in 1834, most had no education.

For you see, the devout Christians who had enslaved them for centuries after kidnapping and bringing them across the Atlantic, had deliberately kept them in ignorance.

Fortunately, there was a handful of Christians who did not subscribe to the religious dogma, that Africans were not human.

Among them was a religious sect called Moravian.

Recognizing that the newly freed slaves needed to be educated, in 1861 they established a teacher training College for women, named Bethlehem, in Malvern, the rural district in which I was born.

Although my great grandmother had no formal training, she had become a teacher.
However her daughter, my grandma, who got the opportunity for higher education,  attended Bethlehem teacher training College as did many other female members of my father's family.

 In fact, I recall with some embarrassment how when I was horrified that my daughter wanted to become a teacher after I had spent so much money sending her to college, she reminded me that the family has a tradition of teaching and it had nothing to do with money!🫢🫣.

As usual, she was right.

I even traveled to nearby Cuba some years later, to meet many cousins who were born there, as a grand aunt had migrated to that neighboring island to teach English.

So yes, Nellie proudly carried on the family tradition for decades before retiring to Brighton near the St. Elizabeth /Westmorland border. This district is some 35 miles from Black River, the epicenter of that miserable hurricane.

At age 91, she and her 92 year old husband

spent many terrifying hours in the night of October 28, trying to stay safe and dry, as the hurricane peeled the roof of their home piece by piece.

Fortunately they were eventually rescued by kind neighbors. 

This is what is left of their home today.😭.

It took Dor (who lives in the city and fortunately was unaffected by the monster), weeks to locate them, and even now, three weeks later, the area still has no electricity or Internet and only spotty cel service. 

I guess many will say they escaped with their lives so they should be grateful.

But how do you really rise and rebuild again after 90?

Many Jamaicans are in similar situation, but when you have your youth, it's a natural advantage, psychically and psychologically.

A section of Bethlehem Moravian College.

Jamaicans early?

 I never knew Jamaican people could be  early!

Well most were for the fund raising concert put on by celebrated Jamaican tenor Steve Higgins, to raise funds for the victims of that terrible hurricane, Melissa.

This was held in Plantation, Florida.

 I arrived promptly at 3 pm and the church was already full to the brim. We only got seated in a small room (prayer room?) behind the regular seating area.

Others who arrived after that had to stand till they found and transported chairs which must have been in storage.

Late comers waiting for seats.

It was a really good concert with not only the tenor and his chorale taking us through several genres of Jamaican music, from Belafonte to Marley. 

I especially appreciated how MC/ host Higgins paid tribute to some of our great writers/musicians, who wrote such memorable lyrics.  

Special mention was made of Noel and Beverly Dexter, Olive Lewin and Paulette Bellamy.

My favorite rendition was "the Prayer"  performed by Steve Higgins and Dahlia Wynter.

In my book, only Bocelli and Celine Dion could have outperformed on them👍.

There was a surprise performance by 'Brick and Lace who did Jimmy Cliff's 'many rivers to cross' among other songs.

The two sisters who used to perform in Jamaica under that moniker were good.

 Then they disappeared. I should have expected that they disappeared to the USA!  The other surprise was that now they are three! Another sister?

The new Brick and Lace?

It was a very entertaining afternoon and I am sure they raised a lot of funds and got many other donations, as the air was one of 'Jamaicans anxious to assist their fellow country people who suffered terribly from the devastating ravages of Melissa. '

Hope the donations get to the thousands who need it most.

Yes, I am a born cynic but my decades of seeing the wrong people benefitting from everything, hasn't cured my cynicism.

It has only fertilized it.

The pastor with tenor Steve Higgins 

N. Lauderdale Hispanic celebration.

As they say, better late than never and I totally agree.

Hispanic Heritage Month was celebrated in October in most cities in Broward, with one important feature everywhere being the music festivals.

But in tiny N. Lauderdale (population less than 45,000), their festival was apparently postponed twice and only held on the 1st November.

With my posse 😊.

I have never been to anything in N. Lauderdale before but as a Jamaican, felt an instant connection to that city. For their Mayor hails from Ghana, from which most of our ancestors were transported. Also they have a commissioner named Bustamate. 

That's a famous but uncommon name in Jamaica despite our years of Spanish colonial occupation.

 Only a popular former prime minister and National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamate, bore that Hispanic name, as far I can recall.

Entertainment started with a mariachi band

These two dancers were very professional.

The "Puerta de Oro de Colombia" expertly showcased Colombian music, dance and modelled traditional costumes.

A section of the audience 

This was the star performance backed by drummers. She was so good that Alfredo       (below) never left the dance floor once she started to perform 😊

The Mayor apologized for not holding the festival in the official Hispanic Heritage Month, but in my book, it made no difference as it was a well-planned, and executed event which had everyone enjoying themselves immensely👍.

The two female MC's were excellent too, teaching attendees to do dances from maccarema to our own Marcia Griffith's electric boogie.

Carol surely mastered the moves😊👍.

I weep for Black River/victims

 Although I have traveled extensively, there are few places in the world that have had as much of an impact on my early life as Black River in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.

A section of the peaceful harbor in better times.

The bustling coastal town of Black River has been my parish's capital since 1773. It was then an important port of trade and export center. By the early 1900's it was second only to Kingston in terms of development.

 In fact, so rich and developed was that parish capital in the early years that it was the first place on the island to have a private home with electricity. 

Due to the proliferation of structures in Black River with Georgian and Victorian architecture, in 1999, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust designated the town a Protected National Heritage District.

The once majestic Waterloo house was the first private residence in Jamaica to get electricity.

Due to the destruction brought on the historic town on October 28 2025 by hurricane Melissa, that Black River, the really historic town no longer exists neither can it be reconstructed.

My fond memories of the town don't date back to the very early days though.😊.

I grew up in the rural, backward district of Malvern which is some 18 miles from Black River. In those olden days, the now booming town of Santa Cruz was mostly undeveloped farm lands.

 I was therefore never exposed to any development possibilities, unless I went to Black River, for the nation's capital, Kingston, was 100 miles away via mostly unpaved, winding and mountainous roads, so we never went there very often.

 In fact I don't remember going to Kingston for the first 12 or so years of my life!

So, the capital of St. Elizabeth, Black River was it for me.

The wide, peaceful, bountiful Black River is the longest navigable river in Jamaica.

There they had a hospital, elegant architecturally designed homes and government buildings, professional dental service, numerous shops selling everything, restaurants and guest houses etc. 

I even remember it had a popular Mineral Bath.

That spa had warm sulphur baths where my parents would go to relax and soak, as it was said to have healing waters that treated ailments from rheumatism to intestinal problems.

For me however, it is the big blue sea and magnificent, peaceful, river that brings back the happiest memories. 

My father had been the Collector of taxes for the parish and was based in Black River. In those days, everyone in government offices worked on a Saturdays but that was the day I loved most while growing up.

 For that was when I was taken to Black River to learn how to swim and after, just enjoy the wonderful water.  

Every Saturday, I was put on a rambling bus in the care of the driver, and while the trip  felt like it took forever as the big bus lumbered slowly around corners, even having to reverse at times to traverse dangerous mountain curves,  once I reached the bountiful destination, it was heaven on earth.

Once there, some responsible person from my dad's office would escort me to the sea where they interacted with the fishermen, selecting, scaling and preparing fish for my him while I had the time of my life in the water, for probably hours.

 That's where my lifetime love of the water came from!💪

Unfortunately it's from that same sea that the destruction of Black River came, when Melissa the largest storm in the history of our lovely island, having  gale force winds up to 195 miles per hour, joined the raging Black River sea, and river, to flatten the town and erase much of its history and my childhood memories. 

The pictures and videos are devastating. 

The destruction appears complete and it's going to take decades for the current residents to ever recover and return to normalcy. 

You know I see and hear platitudes from comfortable people talking about how resilient we Jamaicans are and how we will soon rise.

Big deal. 

When the world and the rest of us move on, what happens to the already destitute?

 How will children who must suffer without even schools, as they watch their parents living in penury and suffer for the next few years to just put back the basics like even shelter from the elements, in their lives, cope mentally in the interim?

Jamaica has plenty of goodwill worldwide and help and aid has been flowing in but for how long?

 Hopefully the aid now being received will be channeled to those who really suffered and not end up further enriching politicians with sticky fingers, the powerful and greedy!😡

Yes, the town of Black River like other affected areas will one day be rebuilt.

However many lives will remain shattered, probably for decades. 

Black River will never be the same picturesque, historical place where I learnt so much and enjoyed some of the best years of my youth.

But life goes on and both the sea and huge river will continue to give sustenance and pleasure to all as everything evolves.

This excellent video by Allison records for posterity the Black River that was.

Great contribution to history Allison 👍👏. Thanks

https://youtu.be/_2XQ4kvV9GM?si=x1mOEgIe20LrjgLQ