There is a lot we could write about who is to be blamed for the late notification of Storm TOMAS which wreaked havoc on Barbados last weekend. Funny enough the other islands to the North have had more time to prepare but it did not seem to have prevented lives and property from being loss. What was easily ascertained from listening to and observing Barbadians before, during and after Storm TOMAS was the high level of lethargy, complacency, even ignorance demonstrated. The ready excuse must be that Barbados has not experienced any significant weather system since Janet 1955. The folly of such a position would have been exposed two weeks earlier when heavy rains precipitated significant flooding in Barbados. Perhaps, just perhaps TOMAS would have served as a wake-up call for Barbadians who have become fat and lazy caused by a mindset ‘dah cyan happen hey’.
The fact that perennial sufferer Haiti was spared the brunt of Hurricane TOMAS is little consolation. “Haitian officials say before Tomas weakened into a tropical storm, hurricane rains triggered flooding and mudslides that killed at least six people.” Barbadians may also want to understand the plight of St. Lucians who as far as we are aware have had no running water for the past week because of significant damage to a Dam. People also perished and hundreds of houses have been damaged or destroyed. St. Vincent has also been badly affected. Some Barbadian organizations have mobilized to provide relief to our neighbours.
Back to Haiti which is known to be the poorest country in the world if measured in economic terms. In January 2010 Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake which has seen over a million people living in Tent Cities and many others displaced. As a consequence of the inevitable unsanitary conditions over two hundred and fifty Haitians died of Cholera last month. This is a people who know suffering.
What has been difficult to accept by BU about the Haitian Saga post-earthquake has been the failure of the international relief bodies to effectively and efficiently distribute the aid which was freely given by the world all those months ago. The suffering is too much.
The CARICOM initiative which saw former Prime Minister of Jamaica the Most Hon PJ Patterson appointed to draft a report on the way forward seems to have suffered from the accustomed CARICOM malady. In a recent address Patterson outlined the reconstruction effort but what about the suffering NOW?
Contrast what Patterson is saying to what NGO people are saying on the ground.
Reproduced from ROK’s FB Page
Hurricane coming; earthquake not yet healed
Members of CAFRA in Haiti were desperately trying to assist people living in Camps, to find alternative places to stay, as the country was preparing for Hurricane Tomas. ‘It is an impossible task!’ was the message we received late yesterday, as members explained the frustration they felt. Over one million people are still living in squalid conditions amidst rubble and debris and most of those people have no place to go. So even as our members are desperately spreading flyers with warnings of the impending disaster, it is heart breaking to see how incapable many are, in finding alternative safe places.”
Interim Chairperson of CAFRA, Ms. Flavia Cherry expressed her frustration yesterday while speaking to National Radio in Jamaica. “From the very beginning, we have been pleading for the agencies and international NGOs operating in Haiti to focus more on critical housing and sanitation needs, including the provision of potable water. They knew that it was only a matter of time before water borne diseases such as cholera began to spread, but there appears to be no genuine will to deal with those critical issues. Instead, the country is overrun by foreigners who earn huge salaries and sit behind computers all day. They take up all the decent housing and pay exorbitant sums for three and five years of rent up front. So now the average Haitian can hardly find a decent place to live. They consume all the food but they do not seem to be moved by the plight of those who exist among them. We are grateful for those organizations that are truly making a difference, but there is no excuse for the situation that now exists.”
Ms. Cherry also lamented the fact that most of the churches and schools which previously served as hurricane shelters in Haiti were destroyed during the January 12th earthquake and this makes it even more impossible for any kind of effective evacuation to take place, as Hurricane Tomas menaces closer to the already ravaged country. “We pray that Hurricane Tomas spares Haiti,” said Ms. Cherry, “because this will be another serious human catastrophe, judging from what we suffered here in St. Lucia.”
Ms. Cherry made those comments while recovering from an accident which occurred on the day Hurricane Tomas hit St. Lucia on Saturday October 30th 2010. The vehicle was on its way to deliver emergency lights to women living alone in the north of the island, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and climbed onto the medium on the Vide Bouteille Highway. Ms. Cherry who was sitting at the back of the vehicle at the time, escaped with only minor injuries.
Hurricane Tomas left a trail of death and destruction in St. Lucia with twelve confirmed dead and several others missing from houses and cars which went down with landslides which occurred all over the island. One of the visitors to the island died when his vehicle was washed away and a 31-year old woman drowned while she was in her vehicle. .A mother and her two daughters were found in the mud and debris, while a well-known business man and his family are reported to have perished as an avalanche from a mudslide took their home down to a nearby river. The agricultural industry in the country is the worst hit with the banana industry totally wiped out and the flattening of fruit trees.
Communities all over the island are severely damaged and the village of Soufriere has been declared a disaster zone, with many areas unable to be reached as the road networks have been severely damaged and bridges impassible in some areas. In some of the worst affected communities of the south, people are wondering the streets, desperate for food and water, while some are reported as slaughtering drowned cows, despite warnings from the National Emergency Office. Hundreds of houses in this small country have been destroyed and some of the displaced people have taken refuge in shelters and in the homes of family members whose homes remain standing.
Communication remains a major challenge, especially in the areas worst affected, although today November 1st, some phone lines have been functional, including internet access in limited areas. Minister of Communications and Works, Guy Joseph, says it will be weeks until some roads in the south and west of the island will be passable. This situation leaves thousands of residents stranded and pregnant women in need of medical attention.
The Government of St. Lucia has not given an official estimate of the damage, as some areas remain impassable, but initial estimates indicate that the extent of the damage will be well over a hundred million dollars. Several schools have been severely damaged with lost roofs and major structural damage and the entire roof of the hospital in the community of Dennery took flight in the midst of the hurricane. Patients at the hospital are reported to have been carried to places of safety.
Pregnant women in impassible areas such as Trois Pitons are also reported to be carried on the backs of individuals through internal forest areas, to get to the closest medical facilities available. Unfortunately looting is also reported to be happening in some parts of the island.
Prime Minister Stephenson King has advised that St. Lucia is currently in need of regional and international help as the island struggles to deal with the havoc imposed by the strong winds and rain from Hurricane Tomas. The hurricane came like a thief in the night as islanders were expecting a simple tropical depression which rapidly developed into a hurricane, leaving many unprepared, including stranded tourists.
All the rural communities in St. Lucia are now only accessible by sea and some NGOs, including CAFRA have arranged to travel by boat on November 2nd to visit the affected areas.
The islands of St. Vincent and Barbados have also been very seriously affected by Hurricane Tomas.
Members of CAFRA are asked to note that the CAFRA office will be partially back in operation on Tuesday November 2nd and we can be reached at the following numbers:
1-758-452-3146
458-2693 and
453-1608
Persons wishing to contact Ms. Cherry directly are asked to contact CAFRA (cafra@candw.lc), as her personal email address has been inoperable for sometime now.
Floretta Louis
CAFRA St. Lucia
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