Fishers at Forum Village bank on solidarity to pull through storm
Published:Thursday | July 4, 2024 | 12:08 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
As the outer bands of Hurricane Beryl lashed St Catherine on Wednesday, some fisherfolk at the Forum Fishing Village were cooking and having a grand time at the Rum Party HQ bar while others relaxed in makeshift cottages.
Robert Williamson told The Gleaner that he lives in Kingston, but he would rather be with his colleagues at the fishing village than in the comfort of his home as the Category 4 hurricane passed the island.
“We have to help others that the boat nuh float go weh. We have to be here. We can’t just gone a we home and not know what taking place here. We have to see the area and the base,” Williamson told The Gleaner, before showing off his makeshift bed in a container along the shoreline.
“We have to be here just in case the wind gets so [fierce] and a boat gets loose and it carry it out at sea, so we [are here] to capture it back and put it back in position,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the other less outspoken fisherfolk, whose company he was enjoying, Williamson said the urgings of the authorities could not sway them to leave.
Others alluded to his explanation that the main reason they are at the location was to safeguard their boats and equipment and to support each other. They fear the moment they move to higher ground, their possessions could be stolen.
For his colleague, he told The Gleaner that he has to remain “on the base” because he is his brother’s keeper and they all need each other.
As the rain fell, the fisherfolk – men and women – cooked boiled dumplings with curried chicken and fish – a meal they said that, although not very flavourful, “could keep” them during the storm.
One fisherman told The Gleaner that his meal was prepared by his brethren, and, although not a favourable dish, it is one they have to do with.
“Majority a wi nuh love dem type a food ya, [but] it more stronger to keep us in a di rain,” he said.
Another fisherman amusingly said that the nearer to the sea one is during a storm, the better it is for the person.
“We always a look pan di storm and di storm a look pan we! Trust me!” he said.