Out Of The Caribbean: “We Still Deh Ya”means “We Are Still Here

Grassroots voices take centre stage in a powerful documentary chronicling survival, displacement, and resilience in post-hurricane Jamaica

As the world moves on from Hurricane Melissa, an online documentary series focuses on the voices of the people still affected by one of the most devastating hurricanes in modern history.

“We live like squatters and we are going to die like squatters“….

Sheena lives with her family in Westmoreland, Jamaica, an area that has been completely reconfigured by Hurricane Melissa. The aftermath has left many people like Sheena in limbo. Although the government has made announcements promising funds and loans for homeowners to rebuild, Sheena may not be so lucky. She has lived on that land since 1981 with her family, but unfortunately they have no land title. Their dwelling is seen as illegitimate and not eligible for assistance. The government has stated it would make provisions for people like Sheena to become registered legal owners of their properties, but thus far it has provided nothing. Sheena is due to have a baby any day.

This four-part documentary series, produced by DSE Jamaica, follows Donisha Prendergast and Humanity Ova Vanity (HOV) through 12 weeks of frontline relief work in Westmoreland, Jamaica, one of the communities hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa. The series follows the emotional, social, and logistical reality of grassroots recovery: what it takes, what it costs, and what it means to refuse to leave.

Chapter 2.1 opens on the fuel relief drive in Westmoreland and does not let up. From gas queues to a supply run from Kingston by Matthew Prendergast (Jamaica Bike Life), to a woman nine months pregnant standing outside a structure with no roof on what should have been her due date, this chapter follows the people who stayed long after the news moved on. Five thousand gallons of fuel. Three thousand canisters of cooking gas. Distributed by volunteers, funded by strangers, organised in chaos because nobody else was coming.

Donisha Prendergast & HOV

Donisha Prendergast is a Jamaican filmmaker, activist, and actress, and the granddaughter of reggae legends Bob Marley and Rita Marley through her mother, Sharon Marley. Her work explores themes around the human condition and the inherited legacies of both liberation and postcolonialism, and how they continue to shape culture and institutional frameworks. She studied Theatre Arts at Howard University before earning a BFA in Film and Digital Production from Toronto Metropolitan University. Her screen credits include the lead role in the Canadian Screen Award-winning film Akilla’s Escape (2020), and her documentary work includes Rasta: A Soul’s Journey (2013).

Beyond filmmaking, Prendergast has been an outspoken advocate for police reform following a 2018 racial profiling incident in Rialto, California, where she and two Black colleagues were surrounded by police outside an Airbnb they had rented. Humanity Ova Vanity (HOV) was established by Prendergast in July 2018 as a Jamaica-rooted grassroots non-profit organisation, with her serving as founder and managing director. The organisation is supported by the Rita Marley Foundation and seeks to deliver social interventions through education, the arts, film, and community development initiatives.

Mykal Cushnie & DSE Media (Jamaica)

DSE Media, an acronym for Direct, Shoot, Edit, is one of Jamaica’s leading post-production companies, founded with the vision of creating a complete production facility where an idea can be developed from start to finish. It was formally established by Mykal Cushnie, who left a position at Jamaican cable station HYPE TV to build his own legacy in the industry after enrolling at the New York Film Academy to study film and scriptwriting.

The company’s portfolio spans commercials, music videos, reality TV, documentaries, and short films, with notable projects including the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Project Gold campaign featuring Usain Bolt, and post-production work on the popular television series Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall and The Wray & Nephew Contender. Under the DSE banner, Cushnie also founded Edward Cushnie Films, an initiative intended to develop and train young people in post-production and filmmaking.

The company has worked across the wider Caribbean, handling post-production for Barbadian series and regional lifestyle programming, and remains one of the most recognisable production houses in the Jamaican creative industry.

The pair recently teamed up for Threads of Us, an independent feature film written by Donisha Prendergast and directed by Mykal Cushnie. With an all-Caribbean cast and crew, the film is set in Kingston and rooted in the uniqueness of Kingston life, exploring themes of injustice and resilience.

You can watch the documentary on the DSE channel.