As I look at all the images of devastation once again coming from the various islands of Caribbean, recently hit by Hurricane Melissa, it is a sobering reminder of just how fragile life and livelihoods in the Caribbean truly are.
Jamaica bore the brunt of the Melissa’s fury – with Cuba, Haiti, and The Bahamas also enduring severe damage. Homes have been flattened, lives upended, and economies that were already struggling with slow growth have once again been pushed to the edge.
This is not just a story about harsh winds and relentless rain. It’s about the Caribbean’s ongoing vulnerability to natural disasters — a reality that keeps repeating; each time deepening the economic wounds of our small island nations. These countries are not just battling storms; they are battling structural inequities in global finance that make recovery sometimes far more punishing than it should be.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has been one of the most vocal leaders on this issue, championing what she calls the “vulnerability index” — a tool to ensure that developing nations are assessed not only by GDP but also by their exposure to climate and environmental shocks. Her point is simple yet profound: how can economies that lose half their GDP overnight due to a hurricanes and other natural disasters be expected to compete on the same financial footing as industrialized nations untouched by such devastation?
The global south – of which the Caribbean is a living, breathing example – often times remains trapped in a cycle of rebuilding rather than progressing. International aid often comes too little, too late, and with their strings attached. Meanwhile, the human toll mounts: lost homes, disrupted education, food insecurity, and dwindling opportunities for young people who may see migration as their only escape.
Hurricane Melissa should therefore be seen not just as another natural disaster, but as yet another wake-up call for the global community. The Caribbean doesn’t need sympathy; it needs fairness as PM Mottley as so often stated — in financing, in debt restructuring, and in climate justice.
As the winds and rain die down and the rebuilding begins, one truth remains unshaken: without meaningful global reform, the Caribbean will continue to rebuild on borrowed time and borrowed money – until the next storm comes.
