EDITOR, The Tribune.
BAHAMIANS generally have a tendency to respond emotionally to situations that require thoughtful consideration. For example, we often send athletic teams to compete in international competitions. If my memory serves me right, in the past, our response to their victories usually seemed like a knee jerk reaction, in that there was seldom a standardised way to determine the appropriate response to their success, should they be given a large cash prize or name a street or highway after them, given crown land, etc. It seems so much simpler to determine in advance what the response would be so that both the athletes and the country would already have a plan in place to address these situations as they arise.
Our approach to hurricanes and other issues of national importance is no different. Even though hurricane season is seasonal and we have NEMA, I am not convinced that we have a well thought out or executable plan to address the different levels of damage that could occur in our islands. In addition, we have no formulated plan to address how we should assist our Caribbean neighbours who are devastated, as we have just recently witnessed.
It would be unchristian to offer one kind of help to one Caribbean island and not be prepared to offer the same kind of help to others that suffer the same level of devastation. How can you offer one kind of help to the neighbour on your left but not offer the same level of help to your neighbour on the right? The appearance of preferential treatment would cause a blight upon national reputation and our efforts to render assistance in those emotionally charged situations.
Having watched national hurricane relief efforts in this country from childhood, it is my view that our emergency disaster management teams lack the necessary experience to effectively plan, coordinate and execute strategies that could save lives and minimise suffering experienced in the tragedies that hurricanes cause. Quite naturally, those in charge would disagree, but training makes all the difference in the world. For this reason it is my view that we should always have rapid response teams ready to dispatch locally or abroad to our neighbours who may be devastated by hurricanes. Our teams should coordinate with that country’s local disaster management teams. This would not only allow our country to offer help, but ensure that our local teams gain much needed experience that would greatly benefit us as well.
There are many 20 and 40 foot containers that could be converted into portable clinics or other ancillary emergency facilities that could be dispatched locally or abroad with supplies to render assistance during local disasters, but we have become so accustomed to wasting resources that we seldom learn to use what we have.
There is much we can do to benefit ourselves and our neighbours if we take the time to think. Knee jerk reactions just won’t do!
JB
Nassau,
October 3, 2017.
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