The Government of Saint Lucia has taken precautionary steps to safeguard Saint Lucian students studying in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa approaches the island.
Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and Education Minister Shawn Edward provided an update during Monday’s pre-cabinet media briefing, outlining the measures implemented to ensure students’ safety and comfort.
Prime Minister Pierre confirmed that communication had been established with Jamaica’s leadership and that Saint Lucia was working closely with local authorities to monitor the situation.
“I’ve spoken to the Prime Minister of Jamaica. I’ve expressed our concern and our support for the people of Jamaica,” Pierre stated.
“The Minister of Education has said, and when he comes to speak to you, he can give you more details, that the government is taking care of the well-being of our students who are studying in Jamaica.”
He added that immediate steps had been taken to provide secure accommodation for affected students.
“As an initial measure, we have secured a hotel for them. We are in touch with them to ensure that their health and safety is being looked after. We hope and pray that the hurricane does not create the damage that it can create in Jamaica,” Pierre said.
“We will keep in touch to see how we can help our brothers and sisters in Jamaica, a sister country.”
Education Minister Shawn Edward elaborated on the arrangements, emphasizing the government’s proactive stance.
“As a result of the impending storm, many Caribbean governments have put measures in place to ensure the security and safety of their nationals in Jamaica, in particular students studying at higher educational institutions,” Edward explained.
“The government of Saint Lucia, for our part, has done likewise. Over the weekend, myself and Prime Minister Pierre were in touch with the students and we had several conversations with Saint Lucia’s Honorary Consul to Jamaica, His Excellency Vitus Evans.”
According to Edward, the Saint Lucian government secured hotel accommodation for several students, covering the full cost of their stay.
“In addition to paying for the hotel accommodation, we also made monies available to students to help them buy supplies ahead of the impending storm,” he said.
“The majority of the students are at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Some opted to stay on dorm or on hall and thought they were sufficiently secure there to ride out the storm. Others went with Jamaican friends to private homes, and one student moved in with relatives.”
Edward added that the main priority was ensuring all students were accounted for and supported: “What is important is that we have reached out to our students, we’ve reached out to our nationals, and we were able to provide some level of support ahead of the storm,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jamaican broadcaster Janella Precius, while phoning into a local radio programme, reported that Hurricane Melissa was expected to make landfall between late Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
“We will start experiencing deteriorating weather conditions somewhere in the evening,” Precius said.
“Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in the southwestern belt of the country called Saint Elizabeth. Interestingly, that parish is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Beryl, which was last year. So, it would appear that it is taking a similar path.”
As the storm approaches, both governments have urged residents and students to remain vigilant and to follow all safety advisories.