TEARS, GRIEF and gloom have placed a stranglehold on Millbank, bringing the rustic and close-knit community in the Rio Grande Valley of Portland to its knees.

Eight people, including a 10-year-old boy, climbed into a market truck just after 7 p.m. Friday and headed for Kingston where they would sell their produce and return to their humble abodes. They never even made it to the parish capital, Port Antonio, some 15 miles away.

"Di community mash up. Is pure tears a wash di road now. All a wi a mourn," Errol Francis, a Millbank resident, told The Sunday Gleaner.

Over a dozen residents had gathered at a shop in the community trying to come to terms with the tragedy that had unfolded in their backyard. Among those gathered was Sylvia Lindo, a housewife who was busy combing the hair of 14-year-old Vanessa Palmer.

Vanessa's loss

Vanessa lost her mother, uncle and 10-year-old brother in the accident. Her eyes were still wet, but she kept a strong face. But her father, Leon Palmer, who had fainted at least two times since the horrific tragedy, was not half as strong.

Palmer was not at the shop. When The Sunday Gleaner met him on his way home, he was a wreck. He stood on an embankment with his hands on his head, tears flowing from his eyes.

"Weh mi a guh do? Mi family mash up!" Leon exclaimed.

"Mi likkle bwoy! Mi son … whoa! Mi likkle boy dead! Mi wife … mi baby nah guh know him mother!" Leon wailed.

His wife, Althea Anderson, died next to his son, Ronaldo. Along with Vanessa, she leaves behind a 16-month-old baby.

Community to assist orphans

Already, the community has said it is ready to raise the children of those killed.

Carmen Leslie, 48, left 10 children behind - two of them under the age of 12.

While Millbank mourns, the residents are already thinking about the economic future of their forgotten community.

"Is dem hold the community together. Dem carry out money and carry in money. Wi did a look forward to Christmas but wi a put off dat. Christmas can't go on again. Di community mash up! … Wi mash up!" one woman told The Sunday Gleaner.

Friday's tragedy is the second in the community's modern history.

In 1937, a section of the community disappeared due to landslides - following two months of rain - killing eight persons.

- D. L.