Hurricane Melissa took my family’s home.

Our ancestral home is near Tombstone, a Maroon burial ground in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, one of Jamaica’s largest parishes, situated on the southwest coast of the island. 90% of the homes in Black River, the capital of St. Elizabeth, are completely destroyed. The Category 5 hurricane pushed through Jamaica last week. It was the strongest storm ever to make landfall on the island. Melissa tore off roofs. She snatched homes from their foundation. She dug up caskets planted deep in the ground. She wrecked the police station, courthouse, hospitals, schools, the downtown shopping district, and signage posing on the side of the road. Melissa took it all.

The Black River is unrecognizable. As are parts of St. Ann, Ocho Rios, Westmoreland, Montego Bay a

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