Who wants to come back to Guyana?

Sep 17, 2017 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Nothing better shows the impotence of the governments of the Caricom than its pitiful response, to date, to the damage caused by Hurricane Irma. The Caricom Heads are further out to sea in terms of helping the affected nations. Further there is the Hurricane Jose which has spared the Caribbean further misery and seems likely to also spare the East Coast of the United States
A number of islands in the Caribbean were badly hit by Hurricane Irma. Barbuda was the most badly affected, followed by St. Martin and the British Virgin Islands. Cuba was also badly affected but that country, though poor, does not accept relief assistance because it understands the ‘strings’ which come with such assistance. It has always managed to help itself despite the damage to its agricultural sector.
The Guyana government is mobilizing to assist those countries in the Caribbean which have been affected by Hurricane Irma. A committee has been established and has met with members of the private sector no doubt to seek their assistance in helping the victims of Hurricane Irma.
The Government has also made an initial out lay of $50,000. A government Minister is to tour one of the affected islands to make an assessment.
This all sounds nice. But the bottom line is that people who are affected by hurricanes need immediate help. They really cannot wait one or two weeks after an incident for help to reach them. Assistance has to be immediate and within the first few days of the hurricane.
The roofs of homes have been blown off and the owners have suffered almost total losses of their possessions. All they have, in most cases, is the land on which their houses were constructed. They have to rebuild, they have to find food and water and they need immediate shelter. They cannot afford the luxury of waiting for Caricom countries to get their act together.
The Caribbean has had a history of hurricanes. Yet, the response to the damage caused is still wanting. If after so many years Caricom cannot get its act together in such times of crises, then it is time to consider the usefulness of the integration movement.
The bottom line is that the countries of Caricom are too poor to be of much assistance to the hurricane hit countries. Those countries are going to be up and on their feet and running by the time Guyana decides what it intends to send.
Those countries that are affected have something which Guyanese do not have much of. They have insurance coverage which covers hurricane damage and so many of the affected citizens are going to be compensated by their insurance companies.
They also have good infrastructure and while power poles and lines may be down, these are going to be fixed in reasonable time. International assistance is going to pour in for these countries far faster than relief aid is going to come from Caricom. They are going to recover faster than we can get supplies to them.
The French are going to help their protectorates. The British are going to help the British Virgin Islands. Caricom should not bother with these places. Their needs will be taken care of.
Caricom, including Guyana, should concentrate on helping our nationals who are affected in those places. Offer diplomatic assistance but do not encourage them to come back to Guyana because they would have left one hurricane and come back to another. Things are not bright in Guyana and it may be much better for them to stay in a country which can rebound from disaster much faster than Guyana can from its present economic woes which have seen a contraction of business. When the oil money rolls in, the Guyanese who are living overseas are going to come back home. They will not need any encouragement to do so.
The APNU+AFC has had limited experience in responding to appeals for hurricane damage assistance and therefore it has been caught flatfooted. But that is nothing new. The entire region has been unable, despite the many experiences of past hurricanes, to respond in a timely manner to the desperate pleas for assistance.
Guyana should concentrate on its nationals. That is its first priority and perhaps the only thing which it should address at this relatively late hour in the response to the hurricane-affected islands.

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