Commentary

Children suffering from malnutrition are treated at an MSF clinic in Metche Camp, Chad, near the Sudanese border.
December 9, 2025

Ronald Sanders | Hunger and war: The oldest crime the world still permits

The governments of the world’s powerful nations have learned to live with disregard for human suffering. That is the bleak truth behind a new UN report whose numbers should shame every leader or…
In this October 30 photo a man is seen sitting by the roadside on High Street, Black River, surrounded by debris of structures damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Shinique Walters | Establish disaster aid funding framework for communities

Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of widespread disruption, exposing the country’s deep vulnerability to climate-related disasters. Flooding, uprooted trees, damaged roofs, crops destroyed, bridges…
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December 9, 2025

Garth Rattray | This is an opportunity to get it right

Western Jamaica and sections of middle Jamaica suffered unprecedented destruction due to category 5 Hurricane Melissa. The event has been described as catastrophic and even apocalyptic. The losses are…
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December 9, 2025

Orville Taylor | Retrenchments and safety net

Thank God some of us still have roofs over our heads and accessible supplies of food and water. A privilege set have electricity, and doubtless, much to be grateful for. A long and slow recovery…
Christopher Burgess
December 9, 2025

Christopher Burgess | Avoiding vulnerabilities in recovery

Hurricane Melissa revealed that Jamaica’s weakness is not only fragile coordination but fragile infrastructure. Empathy and equity must remain at the heart of the recovery process. As Jamaica moves…
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness speaking at a press briefing at Jamaica House.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority a good start

The Government’s concurrence with this newspaper’s call for a legislated special purpose vehicle to undertake the post-Hurricane Melissa reconstruction of western Jamaica is a good start towards the…
December 9, 2025

Peter Espeut | God is not like humanity

Many of us Jamaicans are Old Testament people – which is fine if we follow the Jewish faith tradition. But if we are children of the New Covenant – the New Testament – then we follow a different…
Damage sustained by Sydney Pagon STEM Academy’s agricultural farm during the passage of Hurricane Melissa in Elim district, St Elizabeth.
December 9, 2025

Ohene Blake | Cauterising the adverse economic impacts of Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa has devastated the western third or more of Jamaica. This is the prime real sector for economic growth. It is the centre of agricultural food production for the entire Jamaican and…
Schools, hospitals and clinics were levelled or badly mangled by the hurricane’s 185 mph winds.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | Specific body for rebuilding

There is no question that Hurricane Melissa severely battered western Jamaica. Indeed, even as the assessment becomes more granular, what is known so far of the impact of the Category 5 storm is…