What troubles me most about Jamaica is how quickly the suffering of ordinary people becomes a political argument. A family asks for help, and instead of compassion, people look away criticize and delay assistance.

How did we reach a place where defending a politician matters more than listening to a mother worried about her children?

I believe Andrew Holness and his administration deserve serious scrutiny over the pace of hurricane assistance. Leadership must be measured by how effectively help reaches people, especially those without connections, influence, or money. A family still waiting for a safe home cannot live inside a press conference or shelter beneath a promise.

Beenie Man has raised questions about relief funds and the people still waiting for help. Those questions deserve clear, documented answers. Publish what was received, what was spent, what remains, and when outstanding assistance will reach families. Explain the delays in language ordinary people can understand.

Public money and donations entrusted to the Government are not Andrew Holness’s personal money. Assistance should never be presented as a personal favour that requires political loyalty or endless gratitude. Public service comes with a duty to account.

And we need to speak honestly about classism.

There is an attitude in Jamaica that poor people should endure hardship quietly, while those bourgeoisie with status decide whether their complaints are respectable enough to hear. Your address, complexion, surname, connections, or bank balance should never determine how seriously your suffering is taken.

Classism is a cousin of racism. Their histories differ, but both can teach people to accept another person’s humiliation as normal. Both can make privilege comfortable enough to ignore the cries outside its gate.

When you are secure in your own home, it is easy to tell someone else to be patient. When your children are comfortable, it is easy to dismiss another parent’s desperation as politics. That distance from suffering should call for greater compassion, not greater contempt.

Every JLP supporter is capable of demanding accountability from a JLP government. Every PNP supporter owes the country the same standard when their party governs. Loyalty should never require surrendering your conscience.

You can support Andrew Holness and still insist that he answer difficult questions. You can acknowledge work that has been done and still demand urgency for those left waiting.

What I cannot respect is mocking struggling people or treating scrutiny as an attack on Jamaica. Asking how public resources are managed is part of caring about Jamaica.

The victims should be bringing us together. Their needs should rise above party colours and social class.

A mother should not have to prove her political loyalty before someone hears her. A child should not have to wait for adults to finish defending their party before receiving help.

We owe our people more than excuses. We owe them dignity, clear answers, and action.