Yaakov Raskin | A year after Melissa

On October 28, Jamaica will mark one year since Hurricane Melissa struck our island. To commemorate that anniversary, a 62-foot statue called Together We Rise has been erected along the Hip Strip.

Two forearms rise out of the ground, their skin carved with the grain of tree bark. At the top, two hands clasp together, one gripping the other’s wrist like a rescuer pulling someone from the water. Small human figures climb the arms, each reaching back to pull up the person below.

The artist, Scheed Cole, says scenes near the base show people fighting to survive the storm. Higher up are a construction worker and a man carrying bananas, signifying Jamaica going back to work and back to the land.

From the clasped hands, a slender trunk shoots upward into branches. Cole calls it a tree of life, with 14 leaves, one for each parish, each modelled on a healing plant.

When I saw it, I thought of a verse Jews sing every Sabbath as the Torah scroll is returned to the ark: “It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it” (Proverbs 3:18). Cole has given that verse a shape, a tree growing out of people holding on to one another.

It is a beautiful tribute to how, following the harrowing storm, neighbours helped neighbours, strangers opened their doors, and anyone with the means pitched in.

While Melissa is one year in the past, its effects are still being felt. Those that may last the longest live in the hearts and minds of everyday people. We remember the terror we faced during those five hours and the uncertainty of whether we would make it through the storm. The impact on the mental and emotional health of children may be felt for a long time.

Many parents are also still struggling as they try to rebuild their lives, homes and livelihoods.

That is why Chabad of Jamaica has begun a programme to promote youth mental health. We visit children in vulnerable communities to bring hope and reassurance and provide supplies, books, toys and snacks.

One of our social workers, Coleen Lawson-Tayler, said: “It is always a great and warm feeling seeing how happy the children are and how excited they are when they see us and knowing that we not just come but things are brought for them.”

Amid the despair many feel, I turn to the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, for guidance and inspiration. Jewish tradition teaches that the weekly Torah portion offers wisdom for our specific situation.

Two weeks ago, we read about Noah and the flood. This past Shabbat, we read that G-d tells Abraham, at age 75: “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

He was uprooted from everything he knew and told to take a journey with no destination.

Melissa did something similar to us. Overnight, the Jamaica we knew was gone, and none of us could see what lay ahead. Abraham walked forward with faith, and many people I interacted with following the storm had a similar faith in the Almighty.

WHERE WAS G-D?

It is logical and normal to have doubts and questions. Since the storm, people from all walks of life have asked me where G-d was during Melissa. How could a merciful G-d allow this to happen? I will not pretend to explain why tragedy happens.

However, Jewish sages have taught that, when things don’t make sense, the question can run in the other direction, from G-d to us.

After Adam eats from the tree of knowledge, G-d asks him: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). A chapter later, G-d asks Cain: “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain answers: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, explained that G-d asks this of every person in every generation: Where are you in your world, and what have you done with the days you were given?

When things seem bleak, G-d’s question reminds us that we are not powerless. We must take responsibility and understand that, at the end of the day, we are indeed our brother’s keeper.

That is the question before every Jamaican this week. A year after the storm, do we know where our neighbours are, and are we still looking out for them?

OCTOBER 28 – HOW TO MARK ONE YEAR

In the days after Melissa, neighbours checked on neighbours, and families who had lost a great deal opened their doors to people who had lost everything. Let us remember that sense of responsibility and care.

Let October 28 be more than a day of remembrance. Let this anniversary be a call to action. There is still much work to be done, and each of us has a role to play, whether checking in on a friend or donating time to help rebuild.

Last October, the storm wreaked havoc on the island. This year, we are called to continue the kindness we witnessed in those early days.

Rabbi Yaakov Raskin is the director of Chabad of Jamaica. If you or someone you know needs help, please reach out to info@jewishjamaica.com. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.