Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

This young man uses a plastic container to take water from one of several dislocated boats on the Rocky Point beach in Clarendon. The water, which was caught in the boat from rainfall brought by Hurricane Dean, is infested with mosquitoes and algae, but is being used for washing and bathing. - Photo by Gareth Manning

The scene is reminiscent of a bombed or war-torn village in the Middle East or Africa - hungry children craving for food and care, while their desperate parents scramble to salvage what they can to save their family from starvation.

But this is not Africa or the Middle East. It is along Jamaica's south coast, where people are doing what they must to survive in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean.

As a bus from Children's First - a charity organisation - travels along the desolate Old Harbour Bay beach in St. Catherine, it becomes a prey. Hungry children, hands outstretched, flock the bus in the hope of getting just even a taste of the cornmeal porridge the charity prepared specially for them.

Rationing food

But, they are not the only ones who are hungry, it seems; some adults are also trying to get some of the pottage to fill a gap in their empty stomach. But as one woman tries, a barrage of colourful Jamaican vernacular echoes across the beach.

"See some here, daddy," little Rohansays to his father as he hands him a cup of porridge after having half of it.

"No, is all right man, you eat it," an obviously hungry Roosevelt Taylor told his son. "But me no want no more," Rohan answers. "Then put it up fi lata," Roosevelt responds.

It has been days since Roosevelt himself has had a proper meal and clean water to drink or bathe. The family has only a few days of food supply of rice, flour and one tin of mackerel they received from Witter and Sons Funeral Home. And the food has to be rationed among his family and extended family who all live in the same yard.

"See it deh, me jus get dis yah bottle a spring water yah and me jus haffi put it down fi di pickney dem drink, caa me can drink the sea water, but dem cyaan drink it," he says.

Like most in his community, his house has been severely damaged by a chest-high tide and hurricane-force winds, leaving his three children, 'baby mother' and him to huddle together in a single room, which, unlike most others on the beach, is still standing and somewhat habitable.

But Old Harbour Bay, in its plight, appears to be a little bit better off than some other south-coast communities. In Rocky Point, Clarendon, life at best is hard and brutal.

Rough going at Rocky Point

It has been four days since Hurricane Dean passed, but so far, there has been no help.

There is no water, and no water truck has come so far; no electricity, and the very little food that is left is running short.

"All now, we no see nobody," a suffering, but humble Elaine Hudlin tells The Sunday Gleaner from what is left of her roofless one-room house. "We no have no food except the little we could a buy before the storm come and it almost run out and we no have no money fi go buy none."

'Worse than 'Ivan'

Teresa, who is nursing a young baby, doesn't have much either. There is very little to eat and virtually nowhere to live. Her roof has been torn off by 'Dean's' heavy winds. At night, she sleeps under the bed with the baby atop, nestled on two pillows and covered in a blanket.

Clean water is desperately needed in Rocky Point. Stale rain water left in the bottoms of fishing boats or water from the sea is the best they have.

"We use it fi wash and bathe," one young man explains to me as he takes a full container from a boat.

The water from the boat is full of debris, mosquitoes and algae.

There are already some new visitors here - little black flies that no one seems to recognise or know from whence they came. Fortunately, they haven't proved harmful so far.

"It ruff man. This worse than 'Ivan'," Emmanuel, a seasoned fisherman, says.

Just about a mile across from Rocky Point, Portland Cottage lies, suffering the same ills. A few supplies have been coming in, but there are heavy complaints that the supplies, particularly water, are being distributed on a bipartisan basis.

The community spirit is more visible here as residents try to make their houses habitable again. In the street, one man cooks food in a pot, and residents gather around to get some lunch.

Not real names.