Maxine Campbell wipes tears from her eyes on Wednesday as she shares how she is still haunted by the experience of Hurricane Melissa.(Photos: Garfield Robinson)
For Maxine Campbell, a care package meant nothing. All she wanted was for someone to ask, “Are you okay?” But no one did.
As she sat on the verandah of a destroyed shop she recently completed in Retrieve, Hanover, on Wednesday, Campbell’s heart was heavy and her mental health in shambles. Scenes from Hurricane Melissa that ravaged a section of the island on October 28, 2025 haunted her memory.
In a cry for help, she stretched out her hand and called to the Jamaica Observer as the team traversed the area.
“I have a pressing matter to tell you about,” Campbell said, pleading with us to stop and hear what she had to say.
“I was here yesterday [Tuesday] and believe me, I went to my bed last night and I feel bad. Government agency come and nobody cared. They only care about giving us flour and sugar and rice to eat. Believe me, them come here and I stand up there so, and I was here and me nuh hear one of them come to me and say, ‘Mommy, are you okay?’ None of them,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
According to Campbell, while she did not want to sound ungrateful for the relief packages, s
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