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RENDERING ASSISTANCE

Sep 15, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

Once there was an island in the Caribbean with pristine sandy beaches known as Barbuda, but after Hurricane Irma, much of it is gone. Irma decimated the island of Barbuda, ripping apart buildings, uprooting trees, toppling power lines and killing at least one person as its 185 miles per hour wind swept across the two-island nation.
It was a catastrophe. At least 95 percent of the properties on the island are either destroyed or damaged, including its only hospital and airport and its two hotels. The island is uninhabitable with no running water, electricity or telephone service.
Given the extent of the devastation, it is surprising that there were not more fatalities. That in itself was a miracle that resulted from a high level of preparedness.
However, Barbuda is not the only island to feel the wrath of Irma, many others including the Dutch and French St. Martin, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico and Cuba were also shattered by the vicious storm.
It was heart-wrenching and absolutely devastating for locals to see their immaculate beaches turned into junkyards of floating debris. However, after a week of Irma’s furious onslaught, foodstuff remains scarce as most of the facilities are inoperable.
Most of the airports on the islands are closed. As a result, commercial airlines are struggling to restore service and to cope with the cost of refunds. The few airports that are open are used only to evacuate tourists and to receive flights bringing in emergency supplies. No passengers, including media personnel are being allowed at the moment on the islands.
Hurricane Irma has struck a huge blow to the islands’ tourist industry which is their primary source of foreign currency earnings. In 2016, the Caribbean islands hit a record high of 29.3 million visitors, an increase of 4.3 percent over 2015, and earning over US$35 billion in revenues.
Today, most of the region’s prized, idyllic islands have gone away, at least for now and most if not all of the hotels are destroyed. Experts believe that it will take years to rebuild the islands to where they were before hurricane Irma trashed them.
With cell phone towers down and power outages everywhere, communication to, from and within the islands has been difficult, thus impacting the ability of emergency personnel to fully assess the damage. However, initial estimates have placed the cost of the damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars. So while the government of Guyana must be commended for being the first country in the Caribbean to render financial assistance in the amount of US$50,000, it is only a drop in the bucket.
It is true that the Caribbean Islands face a long and difficult road to recovery, but it should be noted that its people are resilient. Let’s face it, the islands are poor and they do not have the resources to rebuild by themselves, which means that outside assistance will definitely be needed.
However, relief is on its way. France and Holland have partnered with several worldwide relief organizations to start the rebuilding process in the Dutch and French St. Martin. Several other countries, including the United States, Britain and Canada as well as a number of international organizations have pledged to render assistance to help rebuild the Islands.
In the meantime, the locals have already started to rebuild by salvaging some of the dislocated structures and repairing the damaged ones.

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