Government brings home over 100 students from Jamaica, 300 stranded in hurricane

People abandon a car on an impassable street flooded by rains caused by Tropical Storm Melissa in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on October 24. The storm is expected to hit Jamaica on October 27. - Ricardo Hernandez

PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the government has returned over 100 TT students studying in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa barrels towards the island.

Speaking to reporters outside the Red House following the Standing Finance Committee sitting on October 25, the Prime Minister said students weren't forgotten.

"Over the last several days, CAL (Caribbean Airlines Ltd) has been putting out notices on social media, and our High Commission in Jamaica has been liaising with the students for those who wanted to come home; we will bring them home."

She said some students took a "different approach," choosing to remain.

"I don’t know if it is true, but it is being said they are looking at the Met updates and waiting and now it is too late. But as soon as it (the hurricane) is over, we will try to bring them home if they still want to come."

She said the TT High Commission in Jamaica is liaising with the students to ensure they have emergency supplies.

"They may not be able to shield them from the winds and the storm, but certainly they will make sure they have supplies to weather the storm."

A Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs release said it has been monitoring the situation and emergency supplies were being made available.

Despite these efforts, a TT Student Association representative said there were close to 300 TT students still stranded at the UWI Mona, Jamaica campus.

The student representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of victimisation, said they were unable to secure flights back home.

For one, he said many students received the e-mails notifying them of the rescue flights late.

A 6.39 pm e-mail from the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training on October 24 informed them of two flights; however, he said they left hours prior, around 11 am. Additionally, he said, while the ministry said students would be prioritised, many could not afford the flights.

"It is impossible to ask students to finance their own flights. Probably the rich and wealthy, sure. But for the majority of students, that are here to pursue an education, that is an impossible ask."

He said countries like the Bahamas evacuated their students since October 23. A release from the Antigua and Barbuda Student Association said the government made accommodation for students to shelter at a hotel with meals included.

The student representative believes TT students were abandoned by the government.

The slow-moving Melissa was upgraded to a category one hurricane on October 25, with forecasts predicting it could rapidly intensify to between a category three or five by the time it makes landfall in Jamaica on October 27.