标签： Jamaica

In the Jamaican parish of St. James, a high-stakes legal case involving a local faith organization facing multiple serious charges related to children remains unresolved, with a senior judge set to deliver a key ruling on dismissal later this month. The case centers on Yahweh Qahal, a Montego Bay-based faith group, whose 13 members first saw criminal charges filed against them in June 2023. The allegations span three different areas of Jamaican law: 13 defendants face charges under the nation’s Education Act for running an unregistered educational facility without official government approval; additional charges of child cruelty were brought under the Child Care and Protection Act; and one count of indecent assault was laid under the Sexual Offences Act. The push for a full dismissal of all charges came in a formal application submitted to Senior Parish Judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce on May 29, made after the prosecution wrapped up its presentation of evidence in the case. Attorneys for the accused, King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and Samoi Campbell, argued in their submission that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case sufficient to warrant moving forward with trial against their clients. In a notable development, prosecutors themselves conceded after reviewing the defense’s arguments that the indecent assault charges brought against two of the 13 accused could not be substantiated in court, given the lack of evidence connecting the defendants to the alleged offense against a child in the group’s care. Prosecutors have maintained, however, that there is sufficient evidence to proceed with the remaining charges still on the books. Central to the child cruelty allegations are claims that the group provided substandard living conditions for the children in its care, with environments described as unsanitary and posing a direct threat to the children’s physical health and well-being. After hearing full arguments from both the defense and prosecution, Judge Grant-Pryce has opted to reserve her decision on the dismissal application, scheduling the ruling to be publicly delivered on June 17, 2024. The outcome of the ruling will determine whether the case will proceed to a full trial on the outstanding charges against the 13 group members.

Seven months ago, Category Five Hurricane Melissa tore through the coastal community of New Town in Black River, St Elizabeth, Jamaica, leaving a trail of shattered homes and disrupted lives. As the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season approaches, local residents are navigating uneven paths to recovery, with stark differences in how families are able to prepare for the next potential storm.

For two locals actively rebuilding their properties, investment in reinforced construction is a top priority to avoid repeating last year’s trauma. Retiree Stennet Lewis, a Jamaica-born former U.S. military member and government agent who returned to his hometown to settle permanently after decades abroad, has poured personal resources into strengthening his rebuilt roof. “I imported most of the hurricane straps, galvanized nails, and high-grade roofing shingles directly from the United States, and we’re using solid two-by-six lumber for the framework,” Lewis explained while overseeing construction crews at his property on Friday. “My whole goal is to have every reinforcement finished before a storm hits, so I can finally settle back home peacefully and enjoy the life I came back for.”

A short distance away, veteran local roof carpenter Andre Bigby is finally turning his attention to his own family home, after spending weeks in the immediate aftermath of the storm repairing dozens of damaged roofs for neighbors across the community. Like Lewis, Bigby is prioritizing hardened construction techniques he did not have access to for his own property before the storm. “We’re installing heavy-duty hurricane straps and J-bolts that anchor the roof plating directly to the rafters,” Bigby said, demonstrating the hardware during construction. “I’ve already added these reinforcements to every home I’ve worked on since the storm, and it’s long past time my own place got the same protection.”

Bigby’s journey to rebuilding has been a long one. He survived the storm by fleeing his collapsing home for shelter in a parked car in his garage, where he waited out the aftermath for roughly two weeks after a falling star apple tree triggered his roof to lift off. His family applied for government roofing relief through Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which assessed the damage three weeks after the storm, but the family has yet to receive any assistance. “Everything you see here is self-funded,” Bigby noted. Despite the harrowing experience, he says he has processed the trauma and feels confident in his new preparations. “I’ve seen the worst that can happen, and now I’m ready. I don’t think any coming storm will hit as hard as Melissa did, and I’m prepared either way.”

Not all residents share that sense of cautious optimism, however. For Sasha Dillion, a renter who has long aspired to own her own home, every rainfall triggers new anxiety, as her rental property’s damaged roof has never been repaired. Dillion and her family of four already endured a terrifying ordeal during Melissa, when their roof tore off mid-storm and forced them to seek emergency shelter with neighbors. The trauma of that experience has left lasting impacts: her 10-year-old son now suffers from panic attacks during heavy rain or strong wind, crying whenever unstable weather hits.

Dillion has already purchased a plot of land to build her own home, and has managed to collect a small supply of roofing materials, but she lacks the funds to move construction forward. As hurricane season nears, she and her family remain in a constant state of fear. “I just need a little help to get started. Even a small two-bedroom home would be enough to take this weight off our shoulders,” she said. “Every day I worry another storm will come, and we’ll be right back where we were last year. I just want a safe place my family doesn’t have to be scared in anymore.”

For Lewis, the widespread destruction Melissa left across his childhood hometown remains a painful sight. While he welcomes the Jamaican government’s proposed plan to relocate and rebuild Black River further inland to reduce future storm risk, he says residents are waiting for visible, tangible progress and more widespread relief for post-storm rebuilding. “I understand government work has procedures, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” Lewis said. “But people need to see action, to know leaders are dedicated to helping us get back on our feet. That reassurance means a lot when you’re staring down a new hurricane season after what we just went through.”

Across the community, photos from the area show the uneven recovery: active construction crews from the Jamaica Defence Force working on homes in nearby New Holland, Bigby demonstrating his reinforced building hardware, Dillion resting her head in her hand amid ongoing worry, and abandoned damaged homes still standing empty seven months after the storm.

ST JAMES, Jamaica — For a neighborhood long defined by violence and fear, Salt Spring in St James is celebrating a remarkable turning point: law enforcement officials confirm no homicides or shootings have been recorded in the community since the beginning of 2026, marking the most dramatic downward trend in violent crime the area has seen in decades.

Deputy Superintendent Rodrick Reid, acting operations lead for the St James Police Division, told attendees at a recent Project STAR-hosted town hall held at the Salt Spring New Testament Church that this unprecedented progress is the product of years of consistent, intentional partnership between local residents and law enforcement. The town hall gathering was convened to share updates on Project STAR’s community transformation work and collect resident feedback to refine ongoing programming.

“What we’re seeing right now is a significant, sustained drop in criminal activity that’s already changed daily life for people who live here,” Reid said in comments included in an official release from Project STAR. “Not long ago, Salt Spring was a place most people avoided, too worried about violence to walk through the neighborhood. That reputation is finally starting to change for the better.”

To put the progress in context, Reid noted that the community recorded two murders in all of 2025. While he emphasized that any loss of life to violence remains unacceptable, the 2025 numbers already represented a massive shift from the community’s bloodier past, paving the way for the historic milestone achieved in 2026. “Zero murders and zero shootings at this point in 2026 is incredibly encouraging, but we can’t let our guard down,” Reid said, urging residents to continue their close collaboration with police to keep the community safe.

Reid singled out the five-year community transformation initiative Project STAR as a critical driver of the crime reduction gains, noting that targeted investment in social and economic development has created the stable conditions needed for safety to take root. “When all stakeholders come together with a shared goal, this is the kind of success we can deliver,” he said.

He also highlighted the transformed relationship between police and the Salt Spring Community Development Committee (CDC), a partnership that once was fractured but now forms the backbone of local crime prevention work. “There was a time when the CDC and local law enforcement didn’t see eye to eye, that’s all in the rearview now,” Reid explained. “Today, CDC members are core partners, and we work side by side to move Salt Spring forward.”

Saffrey Brown, director of Project STAR, explained that the initiative’s community-centered model is designed to address the root causes of violence by strengthening crime prevention systems and rebuilding broken trust between residents and institutions. “One of our biggest wins has been mending the divide between residents and local police,” Brown said. She added that programming ranging from youth sports leagues to peace building workshops and social support networks has given young people, who are often most vulnerable to recruitment by criminal groups, positive alternatives to a life of crime.

Launched as a five-year effort to drive social and economic change in under-resourced communities grappling with persistent high crime, Project STAR selected Salt Spring for intervention in late 2023. Full implementation kicked off in 2024, starting with community consultations and rolling out programming focused on expanding social protection, boosting local economic opportunity, and centering community leadership in public safety work.

Gregory Harris, the city councillor for the Salt Spring Division, echoed praise for the initiative, saying its impact goes far beyond lower crime numbers to reshape how residents see themselves and their neighborhood. “Project STAR hasn’t just changed the physical and social conditions in Salt Spring — it’s changed the mindset of our people,” Harris said. “By listening to residents and working with them instead of for them, the project has broken down decades-old barriers and built a level of trust and unity we’ve never experienced before. What we’re seeing now is a community that’s come together as one, and that’s the strongest possible foundation to keep violent crime down for good.”

A heartfelt thanksgiving service to celebrate the life and legacy of former educator Dr. Sylvia Palmer-Dunn was held on Sunday at the Old Harbour Seventh-day Adventist Church, located in the parish of St. Catherine. Among the attendees gathered to mourn the loss and honor the memory of the respected former educator was Member of Parliament Marlene Malahoo Forte, who represents the St. James West Central constituency. During the service, Forte offered personal words of comfort and consolation to her cousin Derrick Dunn, the relative of the late Dr. Palmer-Dunn. Standing nearby and bearing witness to the moment of shared grief and support was another family cousin, Angela Chapman, who positioned herself to the right of the gathering. The memorial event brought together family, friends, and community members to reflect on Dr. Palmer-Dunn’s contributions to education and her impact on the lives of those around her. The service was documented by photographer Garfield Robinson, who captured the intimate moment of condolence between the family members.

A tense confrontation unfolded in central Mexico City this week, when local law enforcement deployed tear gas to disperse a group of demonstrating teachers who were attempting to march toward the ongoing construction of a 2026 FIFA World Cup fan festival, Agence France-Presse correspondents on the ground have confirmed. The unrest began after the group of protesting educators pushed past a heavy metal security barricade erected to control access to Mexico City’s iconic Zocalo plaza. This historic central public space, located just one block from the city’s official government palace, is currently being transformed to host World Cup fan events. It will feature a massive overhead screen that is set to broadcast Mexico’s opening match of the 2026 tournament to thousands of soccer fans when the game kicks off on June 11.

As the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially kicks off, leaders of Jamaica’s top utility providers have reflected on the unprecedented solidarity that defined recovery efforts after Hurricane Melissa, emphasizing that national interest trumped commercial rivalry when communities needed help most.

Speaking at the Jamaica Observer Press Club last Thursday, Digicel Jamaica Chief Executive Officer Stephen Murad opened up about the rapid shift in priorities after the storm left large swathes of western Jamaica reeling from destruction. While daily competition for customers and market share is a standard part of the telecommunications and utility industries, Murad noted that every organization put their competitive tensions aside to focus on community recovery.

“At the end of the day, our core mission as local entities is protecting Jamaica. That’s what drives every decision we make right now,” Murad explained. He highlighted that collaboration across the sector has strengthened dramatically since Hugh Grant took the helm at the Jamaica Public Service (JPS), noting that cross-company coordination is now seamless. “Hugh and I can have all the market rivalry in the world — that’s good for customers, actually — but when disaster hits, it’s country first, no exceptions. No matter what brand you wear, we’re all Jamaicans first. Thousands of people are still living with the after-effects of one of the most devastating storms we’ve seen in decades, and we can never forget that.”

Murad added that Digicel’s commitment to recovery stretched far beyond just restoring damaged cell service. Months after the hurricane passed, the company continues to support impacted communities across the island. As a major local employer with roughly 1,000 workers in Jamaica, Murad noted that the recovery of communities is directly tied to the well-being of the company’s own team and their families.

Similar commitments to cross-sector cooperation and long-term resilience were echoed by Stephen Price, Vice-President and General Manager of Flow Jamaica. Price outlined that the sector is currently walking a tightrope: working to upgrade and reinforce critical infrastructure to withstand future storms while absorbing skyrocketing costs driven by post-disaster recovery and ongoing global supply chain disruptions.

Price revealed that Flow has poured roughly US$85 million into recovery works since Hurricane Melissa hit in November, with an additional US$27 million invested in expanding network capacity to meet surging demand for connectivity in the storm’s aftermath. Beyond immediate repairs, the company has expanded backup power generation systems, moved roughly 80 kilometers of transmission lines underground to reduce storm vulnerability, and reinforced critical facilities that are at risk of storm surge damage.

Still, Price cautioned that building climate-resilient infrastructure carries a very heavy price tag for Jamaica, a small island developing state that is disproportionately impacted by climate change. “This level of infrastructure costs real money, and we know what kind of pressure that puts on our already strained national economy,” he said. “We’ve seen inflation jump since the hurricane, but none of the major utility providers have raised customer rates yet. We’ve absorbed all the increases in fuel prices and the extra supply chain costs so far.”

Price noted that cost pressures go far beyond fuel: petroleum-based materials, fiber optic infrastructure, shipping, and all imported construction inputs have grown drastically more expensive in recent years. While providers are working hard to shield consumers from these costs for as long as possible, he warned that continued large-scale investment in resilience could eventually require moderate rate adjustments to keep upgrades on track.

At the National Water Commission (NWC), Corporate Public Relations Manager Delano Williams outlined the agency’s new preparations for the 2024 hurricane season. The NWC is investing roughly J$1.2 billion in additional backup generators for major water treatment facilities and secondary distribution sites across the island. The agency has also strengthened pre-negotiated agreements with private trucking contractors to speed up potable water deliveries to cut-off communities during emergency outages.

For JPS, Jamaica’s main electricity provider, Chief Operating Officer Lance Becca shared that the company has expanded formal partnership agreements with overseas utilities and equipment suppliers. The new pacts allow JPS to access critical replacement parts and emergency supplies much faster after major storms, strengthening the company’s overall contingency planning and response capacity for the upcoming hurricane season.