Hurricane Beryl

and a greater theme of community vs the monolith

Hey love, waagwaan?

In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, a record storm that just hit Jamaica, my island, I am left feeling swollen and tender with thoughts and feelings not only for my fellow yaadies but for the global south at large. There is so much to unpack. So much and yet nothing that hasn’t been said before. Whether it’s climate change, over-consumerism, gerrymandering, oil spills, gentrification, unfair sanctioning—my soul siblings have been out there, in the trenches, screaming injustice until their throats scratch and echo like old records. It’s not new. Long before money held the place of God, which gives men like Bezos, Gates, and Musk the power to create a world that favours them and sacrifices the rest, there was an unloving projection of God who gave Kings the right to take, to own, and to control everything they rested their eyes on. Sure, Columbus sailed the seven seas, but it was the King & Queen of Spain who wrote the first patent (permission to own and commodify things that are not yours to own), and then again the pope who granted permission for that patent, which of course he got permission for from God¹.

Hurricane season in the Atlantic is generally from June to November, peaking in September. Beryl, a category 5 hurricane that has just wreaked havoc on the Caribbean region, is the earliest ever category 5 storm recorded. In fact, the only other hurricane to come close was Emily in 2006. Ninety per cent of the homes on Union Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines were destroyed or severely damaged. Lost lives, lost light, damaged roofs, floods—the grief is palpable across the region. In a news article by the BBC entitled “How record-breaking Hurricane Beryl is a sign of a warming world,” writer Mark Poyting explains that “while a category five hurricane is unheard of this early in the season, its strength fits into the broader picture of how these storms are changing in a warming world.” In other words, this is not and will not be an isolated case. Just like with the rest of capitalism, the global south takes on the brunt of the negative effects. Meanwhile, first-world countries turn a blind eye to their backyards.

In a conquista-centric world, it would seem that God believes that only some of his children are deserving and most are not. That wealth and proximity to wealth is a virtue that justifies the sacrifice of the global majority, then and now. When I look at the world through the glasses they have given me, I see nothing but a cold, calculating God—a mechanistic universe that works based on simple maths. Quid pro quo, 1+1=2, you pay me, and I respect you. When I look at it that way, I see how being human is conditional, that personhood is afforded to those who do business.

But then again, when I take the glasses off, when I put my screens away, I see a life that is abundant. I see people who are caring. I see rivers, mountains, oceans, diverse fruits, and vegetables. When I forget to be anxious about my conditional personhood, I lay down in the grass and I feel God on my skin and I know that our God, our universe, our planet, doesn’t fuck with their god. I bite into a Julie mango on a summer day and think, God is good. In a reflection piece by Haitian-American poet

Rose J. Percy

, she talks about how growing up as a black immigrant and a person with faith has always been positioned at odds. In so many ways it is, but she insists that underneath it all she finds safety in a Jesus, in a God that loves black skin, a Source that celebrates black lives. When I read her piece, I could tell that she was seeing what I was seeing when I had that Julie mango.

I am currently in China with my partner far away from my island, but I keep in touch with my community online. One of my favourite ways to stay in the loop and connect these days is a WhatsApp group chat for the TrueSelf community, “a peaceful collective focused on self-care and community support” in Kingston. They offer yoga and other care-centred offerings, in-person and online, with a different schedule released monthly. Leading up to the storm, the group was filled with compassion and support, lending love, energy, and actual provisions to anyone who needed it. On the day after, a member prepared to drive to the south of St. Elizabeth, the most affected side of the island, to deliver goods and TrueSelf quickly organised to help collect non-perishable items and cash donations to help with relief aid. They weren’t the only ones. Bright and early Jamaican time the day after Beryl hit, I was sent six different donation drives², working to reach real individuals impacted. A fellow third-culture global transplant, Hanna is Golden, started a campaign to donate all the proceeds from her island gal t-shirt merch to One Caribbean Relief.

Shantay Foster, an educational consultant and TrueSelf member, became my unofficial reporter, showing me and the community the real damage that took place in St. Elizabeth. Shantay delivered care packages to over 30 households in Flagaman, St. Elizabeth, which according to the Observer, received some of the worst damage in the wake of Hurricane Beryl³.

“The residents received the care packages with great appreciation and were eager to share their heartfelt gratitude for the assistance 💜🙏🏽 I was asked to share news of the extent of the devastation but it’s genuinely difficult to put it into words 😢 Everywhere you look there are homes without roofs. As I stepped into a few of the homes, I was greeted with extensive water damage that I’m told is in almost every home.” — Shantay Foster

Flagaman may just be a small, little speck on the map to many, but to the Jamaican massive, Flagaman is family. St. Elizabeth is the breadbasket parish of Jamaica, and Flagaman in particular is home to one of the most populated farming communities on the island. Shantay shared this background on the area:

“With approximately 500 registered farmers (as of 2022), Flagaman has been contributing significantly to Jamaica’s food security over the years. It is a community of resilient and kind people who are always willing to share. Just yesterday I was offered a large bag of onions and some honeydew melon 🤤🍈 The people of St. Elizabeth have helped feed us over the years and even yesterday I saw farm work being done alongside the home repairs that were being undertaken by nearly all residents.”

When I make an effort to tune out the noise of the machine that says it’s more likely we die out or run away to Mars than pick up the pieces and turn to one another, I see softness. When I manage to change the channel, I see softness. I see the kind of softness that rocks and rolls with the punches. I see softness that sways in strong winds to avoid crumbling under pressure. I see the kind of softness that is sustainable, the kind that endures.

Our experiments with hyper-industrialism and capitalist conquest have failed. The world is burning up. The winds are tearing at our roofs. Illness hides in our food and spreads through our homes. Yet, here I am, overwhelmed with the joy of community. I am inspired by the bonds of kinship and the resilience of love. I am overcome with laughter and an infectious urge to let my hair out and wine with a coconut in my hand. What I am learning every day—no, what I am being taught every day—is that all the meaning in the world is in the very real connections we make face-to-face in our small circles of influence. It is not in the world-changing inventions, the AI, the locomotives, the rockets, or the GMOs. There’s no magic discovery that will bring us to the next frontier. The work is right in front of us, and the sooner we see God and her many faces in our everyday lives, the closer we will be to a utopian-like future.

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Donate to Relief Efforts

Help the Union Island population recover from the Hurricane - Gofundme organised by Jeremie Tronet to charter planes to the island with supplies.

Support the Treasure Beach Community - “The passage of Hurricane Beryl has left significant damage in its trail on the South Coast of Jamaica. Donations will support rebuilding and relief efforts in the Greater Treasure Beach area”

Send a transfer directly to Shantay Foster for the Flagaman Farming Community - her account information is in the caption.

Buy a T-shirt from Hanna & support the Caribbean - Island Gal!

Surf Girls Relief Drive - 8 Mile Bull Bay, St. Andrew

Fi We Children Foundation - Donate via Paypal link in their bio, or bring non-perishable items to one of their drop off locations. Email fiwechildren@gmail.com

Relief Drive at Constant Spring Golf Club, Royal Jamaican Yacht Club and Azan Super Centre - General hurricane relief aid

Relief Drive at My Jamaica in Liguanea Plaza - Relief to be delivered to South-Western Jamaica.

Source Farm Ecovillage - Donate via Paypal for Organic Farmers in Jamaica.

Relief Drive at Food for the Poor- Donate online or drop off non-perishables at Food For the Poor Ellerslie Pen, Spanish Town St. Catherine.

1. This thought comes from the introduction in Oneness vs the 1% by Vandana Shiva. It illustrates that the system we are working within isn’t a defacto, fundamental causality based on how ‘economy’ works without intervention.

2. If you are Jamaican and in the country to donate to these drives, please consider donating physical goods to the drives listed in this post.

3. Reports reaching Observer are that Flagaman, Great Bay, Treasure Beach, Bluntas, Newell, Newcombevalley and Barbary Hall are among the areas worst affected in the parish.

It was great to have you on the letter. I hope felt hugged by this piece and called to get more in touch with your community and perhaps to help out mine. If you feel communion with me and this space, consider becoming a paid subscriber to help me continue to exist and pour into this work. Alternatively, you can buy me a one time coffee towards my debt to the man.