Vendors staying put in Coronation Market

With mattresses, pillows, and even handcarts transformed into makeshift beds, vendors at Kingston's Coronation Market turned the space into their temporary home yesterday as Hurricane Melissa looms over the island.

"Weh mi fi leave here so and go? To mi yaad weh mi know will flood out once likkle rain blow?" questioned one vendor. Despite the threat of the storm, the atmosphere in sections of the market remained surprisingly calm. Some vendors sat chatting comfortably while others continued to sell vegetables and fruits to late shoppers.

A heavily pregnant vendor, who identified herself only as Tish, said she understood why many chose to stay put, even though she planned to go home later.

"Mi sell $10,000 from morning," she said proudly. "Not everybody did have the money to prepare from before, so we are here to give those people a chance to get their items."

Still, she admitted that if her family weren't worried, she too would spend the night.

"Mi just buy load too because one girl want go home so she sell me back at the same price she buy it for. So mi a double the money pon it," Tish said.

Across the market, others echoed her sentiment that leaving is not an option until the storm passes. For many, the market is not just a safer option, but also a more comfortable one.

"The roof nah come off, nuh care how much breeze blow. Mi have mattress, so when mi ready, mi tek it out. The most will happen is water will run in and the place ago get muddy, that's all," one vendor declared.

In the heart of the market, a group of vendors even created their own entertainment spot where a small 'movie theatre' with a TV was set up for everyone to enjoy.

"You watch movie free of cost here, a years mi operate this bar and once people deh here mi nah go home either," said one person.