Sean Scarlett and Percel Stewart picked apples near the back of Apple Hill Farm’s orchard, standing on ladders to reach the high branches and gently dropping the fruit into a round tub in front of their chests.
Throughout the week, the two men helped clear the fields as the growing season came to a close. As they worked, one thing weighed heavily on their minds: their families back in Jamaica.
Hurricane Melissa hit the island on Tuesday, leaving dozens of people dead or missing and thousands of homes destroyed across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
Scarlett and Stewart both heard about the news through YouTube and TikTok. Stewart, 62, of St. Elizabeth Parish, said he could not contact his daughter and grandson right away.
“I was so concerned,” he said. “Last night, I lied on my bed, heard my phone ring, ‘Daddy, Daddy, I’m okay.’ Tears just came out of my eyes.”
Chuck Souther was there when Stewart got the call. He and his wife, Diane, have run Apple Hill since 1978 and have hosted Stewart for 27 years. The Southers were extremely worried.
He recalled Stewart’s daughter saying, “The Jamaica you left behind is gone.” The roof on their house is torn apart, while the top of Stewart’s mother’s house is completely ripped off.
“I can’t imagine getting that phone call,” Souther said while choking up.
Apple Hill hired Stewart, Scarlett and two others farmers from Jamaica this year through the federal H-2A program that allows U.S. agriculture businesses to employ foreign workers for seasonal jobs if there are not sufficient resources available within the country.
Scarlett, 37, is in his first year with Apple Hill but also works at a nearby greenhouse.
“It’s very wonderful, impeccable,” he said about working on the farm.
Scarlett has a wife and daughter back in St. Catherine Parish. They told him that a large tree fell through the back of the house. He said they’re “okay, shaken up but okay.”
All four Jamaican farmers plan to fly back home on Monday, when the Norman Manley International Airport is expected to be partially open. Scarlett said Jamaica experiences extreme weather events “all the time,” but a Category 5 hurricane is historic.
“We’re in the warm waters of the Caribbean,” Scarlett said, “When the cool air mixes with the warm air, we’re always in trouble for a storm.”
The Southers set up a decorated donation box at the counter inside their store, with all proceeds going directly to relief efforts. Over $200 was raised as of Wednesday night, and the farm owners plan to match whatever amount they raise by Thanksgiving. Other farms in the area also contract farmers from Jamaica and have set up GoFundMe pages.
“I wish we could snap our fingers and make it better, but it’ll be a long time,” Chuck Souther said.
The Shaker Road School collected donations during their Pumpkin Stroll for Apple Hill’s Jamaican workers. Each year, the farm provides pumpkins for the school’s October stroll.
Stewart said he felt hopeful about Jamaica rebuilding after the destruction. He characterized the people on the island to be very generous and helping out whenever they can — and this time will be no different.
“God will help us,” he said. “We will help them clean up … whether older, younger, we are one Jamaica.”