Six weeks after Hurricane Beryl ravaged Parottee, St Elizabeth, residents are still living without electricity and essential services. The community remains in disarray, with broken utility poles, damaged homes, and limited access to food and water. Families, including 12 children, struggle to prepare meals once daily, relying on donations for sustenance. The harsh conditions, compounded by swarming mosquitoes and safety concerns, have left residents desperate for aid, as they wait for the Jamaica Public Service Company to restore power by the end of August.

Fireside woes in dark Parottee

With loss of income, family faces power, resource, mosquito challenges as Parottee struggles in Beryl’s wake

Jamaica Gleaner/18 Aug 2024/Rochelle Clayton Staff Reporter 

AN EVENING car ride to Parottee, St Elizabeth, last week Tuesday revealed scenes that were both alarming and disheartening. It was though time had stood still for the residents, who remained without electricity, reliable cellular service, and other essential amenities.

It was striking how little had changed in the community six weeks after Hurricane Beryl swept through on July 3.

When our news team visited Parottee on July 10 – a week after the devastating Category 4 hurricane – tilted and shattered electric poles vividly illustrated the storm’s ferocity.

More than a month later, the same broken poles were precariously leaning towards the road as if greeting, or warning, the passers-by. The top section of one of the poles dangled menacingly, with the electric wires barely holding it above the street – a truly unsettling sight.

The Sunday Gleaner team soon arrived at a property shared by a host of extended family members, including 12 children, where we would remain until just after midnight.

We were happily welcomed by cousins Darrian Brown and Runece Wright, who could not wait to share how difficult their lives have been since Hurricane Beryl stripped them of their multiple streams of income.

Wright’s once-vibrant community shop is now nothing more than shattered plyboard and fading memories. The family has also suffered the loss of more than 100 chickens, goats, and pigs. Their fishing nets and other equipment were also destroyed.

Although Wright’s battered roof was repaired by helpful neighbours, she has relocated to another house in the yard because all her furniture and household items were damaged during the tempest.

PREPARE MEALS ONLY ONCE A DAY

Sitting out in the yard, both women explained that the lack of electricity, coupled with their inability to earn, has forced them to prepare meals only once a day. Brown also shared that it is through the donations of Good Samaritans that they sometimes eat a decent dinner – a far cry from their once-independent lifestyle.

“Sometimes when the people bring food, a that we eat, and sometimes we make some porridge. We cyaa eat properly because we nuh have no business,” Brown shared.

“We mostly eat tin goods and sometimes nothing at all. Last night, we had [only] dumplings” Wright chimed in.

While their water supply has now been restored, Wright said that they experienced bellyaches and vomiting after consumption.

“I don’t know if it’s the water or the food, but something was contaminated,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

As the women detailed their plight and frustration with the slow electricity restoration in the area, the children played around the yard, seemingly unaware of the magnitude of the devastation surrounding them. A nearby swing was a favourite among the younger kids, and the cheerful giggles of Wright’s daughter became the soundtrack of the scene. The older kids, meanwhile, entertained themselves with a talent show, singing and dancing to their renditions of popular dancehall songs.

The children, the women explained, will be mostly affected by the hurricane. They shared that they have been unable to purchase school supplies and uniforms, so their children will not be attending classes on September 2 when the new school year begins.

“Dem affi just look and live. I don’t know when things a go guh back to basics,” Brown said.

As dusk fell, Wright warned that pesky mosquitoes would soon swarm the area to take advantage of their misfortune. We walked to their backyard, which is connected to a local fishing beach, as we soaked up the last of the twilight.

Pointing to a broken fish pot floating on the horizon, Wright said it may have been one of hers.

Before long, day turned to night, and everyone was busy swatting mosquitoes. The men quickly started several small bush fires to drive the insects away, but this did little to keep them at bay. The situation only fuelled more complaints about their living conditions and dissatisfaction with the local health department’s inadequate fogging in the area, noting that the vector-control crew only traversed the main road during their single visit to the area.

Now, the only sources of light were the lit dried leaves and a makeshift streetlight being powered by a generator down the road.

Brown, while sitting on cement blocks in the yard, told The Sunday Gleaner that this had become their new reality.

SAFETY IS A MAJOR CONCERN

Wright complained bitterly that she and her children had been suffering from heat rash due to the hot summer nights without electricity to power their fans. The chairs and tiles on their verandahs have become their resting places, she further disclosed, noting that their safety is a major concern.

“We are safe among ourselves, but not from intruders,” she said.

A youngster, who took refuge by the fireside, also chimed in to share that his fear lies in the swampy areas across the street – crocodiles. The 16-year-old recounted that he and his friends were walking recently along the dark road with only a flashlight to guide them when they saw something move. They soon realised it was a reptile.

“A big one in a di bush up the road. Mi run like mi hear news when mi see it open its mouth,” he said while his cousins laughed in the background.

Though seemingly enjoying the comedic value offered by her nephew, Wright steered the conversation back to the need for more assistance to help their individual families get back on their feet.

“We want light and we want some money to get back a start. If someone gives us a bag of food, that will help, but for how long? That still nah go solve the problem. We can’t do any fishing because the pots are all gone, and we don’t have any refrigerator to store anything. About a month now mi nuh use lotion,” she bemoaned.

“Mi hope JPS come fix the light, too, because the light posts are still leaning in the road,” Wright added, referring to the Jamaica Public Service Company.

The power company has revised its electricity restoration deadline to August 31 for St Elizabeth, the parish hardest hit by Hurricane Beryl.

Asked if they also participated in fun activities to keep them through the nights, Wright replied cheekily, “Heat entertain us. We cya entertain each other.

“The kids usually stay up until 1 a.m. because of the heat. That is when they bathe and then try to sleep. We just sit down and look because the place hot,” she explained.

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