The recent article in the Jamaica Observer makes abundantly clear that, six weeks after Hurricane Melissa struck, communities—especially in parishes such as St Elizabeth and Westmoreland—are now facing a severe shortage of skilled labour to rebuild homes and replace roofs.

This shortage is not a minor inconvenience—it is a choking, strangling bottleneck in recovery. As one veteran builder observed: even with a clear plan to re-roof a damaged home, “the time to complete the task will take longer than usual due to the limited number of masons and carpenters”. jamaicaobserver.com

At such a moment of urgent national need, it would be both strategically and morally negligent for Jamaica to maintain a rigid, cold distance from its nearest and most populous fully CARICOM neighbour Haiti.

Haiti—forged through decades of hardship and resilient reconstruction before and since the 2010 earthquake—possesses precisely the skilled labour force we now lack: masons, carpenters, linesmen, general construction workers hardened by real need, accustomed to rebuilding under extreme conditions. Drawing on that experience would materially (and affordably) accelerate our recovery from Hurricane Melissa.

Clinging to past policy stances of political pride or fear of “losing face” is a luxury Jamaica cannot afford. The genuine cost of stubbornness is not reputational—it is prolonged shelterlessness, needless delay, and continued hardship and a surfeit of risks for Jamaican families.

Now is the time for a pragmatic, evidence-based recalibration: reach out to Haiti, invite in skilled hands, and get Jamaicans back under safe, rebuilt roofs. Our national interest—and the welfare of our people—demand nothing less.