Stuck in Glen Arbor, Jamaican workers worry about families after Hurricane Melissa ravages island
Pictured, l-r, Patricia Brown and Claudia Walford, both Jamaicans who work at The Homestead
UPDATE, Oct. 31: Patricia Brown has spoken to her 4-year-old daughter and her grandmother, who are safe, though their home was damaged by the hurricane. Brown told the Sun that 95 percent of the residents of her home community are now homeless. Meanwhile, John Hudspeth, a resident of The Homestead, has set up a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to support Jamaican staff who work at the Glen Arbor resort.
From staff reports
Patricia Brown hasn’t heard from her 4-year-old daughter who lives with her grandmother on the southern coast of Jamaica, which Hurricane Melissa pummeled on Tuesday, Oct. 28, as a Category 5 hurricane. Telecommunications are spotty around the country in the aftermath of the storm—the strongest to strike the island in modern history.
The photos she has seen online suggest that 90 percent of her home community in Westmoreland Parish suffered severe damage. As of Thursday morning, she has been unable to connect via WhatsApp with her other adult children to learn how they are managing.
“I haven’t slept. I just wanna go home,” said Brown on Wednesday.
Brown has worked as a seasonal employee at The Homestead resort in Glen Arbor for the past 14 years. Her annual six-month stint in Leelanau County ends in October, and she planned to fly home next Tuesday. But the airports are closed, as authorities grapple with the damage inflicted by the storm.
Her colleague Claudia Walford, from St Ann Parish in Jamaica, also hasn’t heard from her family since 11 am on Tuesday morning. She believes the roof of her house was blown off, and the electricity is out.
“I’m not coping too good. I’m praying for the best,” she said.
“We’re only seeing things on social media. We’re not hearing anything from our families.”
The Homestead employs 35 Jamaicans as housekeepers on a seasonal basis. Some have returned to the job in Glen Arbor for 20 years. They work hard, and play an indispensable role in Leelanau County’s tourism-based economy.
Blenda Blagrove, from Alexandria in Saint Ann Parish, is part of a group that was supposed to return to Jamaica earlier this week, but the storm curtailed their plans.
“I’m a little sad. It’s really hard,” said Blagrove. ” I think [my family is] OK. But not hearing from them is the hardest part.”
We’ll update this story as we learn how the families of Brown, Walford and Blagrove are doing—and how the Leelanau County community can support them as Jamaica recovers from Hurricane Melissa.
