Returning to your comfort zone

Tue Jan 28, 2014

Responding to immediate human needs was the critical first step in dealing with the tragedy caused by last December’s disastrous flooding.

Phase one of the recovery effort was about helping affected people return as close and as quickly as possible to their comfort zone – meeting the immediate need for shelter, food and clothing.{{more}} This phase also involved helping families and communities come to terms with the loss of loved ones and overcoming the trauma of losing, in many cases all of a life’s work.

The effort put into providing this humanitarian relief has been, in a word, remarkable. Vincentians at home embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and commitment beyond measure. The diaspora rallied in a manner that most likely surpassed any other previous effort, and regional and international governments and organizations supported generously.

Remarkably, the country rallied to avoid what could potentially have grown into a major humanitarian disaster.

A month into the restoration effort, the longer term reconstruction exercise, involving housing, roads, bridges, and the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector and the forests, are moving increasinlgy centre stage.

Will we as a nation bring the same high level of passion, enthusiasm and involvement to this next, more challenging phase of the recovery effort?

The more than 300 million dollar price tag on reconstruction cleary signals that major regional and international assistance will be required, and in this regard, the proposed Donors Conference is an important initiative, which we hope will deliver firm commitments at levels to match the substantial needs.

But it will be most unfortunate if as a people we opt to sit back and let that admirable level of mobilization wither away, while we slip into the mode of ‘that is Government’s responsibility’.

The scale of the disaster demands that we remain committed for the long haul.