Should we all be contributing?

St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In our case there have been reports of flooding in the normal rain-scarce island of Bequia.{{more}} Our islands are not unique in the world in experiencing such strange weather. All around the globe there are weekly reports of strange weather patterns. Scientists have long been warning us about such possibilities, placing them in the context of climate change, but too many of us are paying little heed. Our recent experiences ought to be enough to wake us up to these grim realities before it is too late.

In the wake of Hurricane Tomas last year and the latest rainstorms, too many of us have simply been waiting on the government to respond. So, for us, it is up to the government, the prime Minister in particular, to mobilize assistance for the relief and recovery effort. Thus we wait anxiously for him to announce how much he has been able to raise abroad, whether from Taiwan, Brazil, Venezuela or international institutions. We often miss the fact that some of this recovery money is not grant funding but loans, albeit on concessionary terms. Some other funds represent a diversion from previously assigned funds, meaning that money originally earmarked for purpose X, is now redirected to the relief effort. This means that the original project, which was planned, now has to be delayed and new funding sought.

Whatever our political views, these are realities that our country must face. Each million dollars for relief and recovery is one million dollars less available for normal developmental purposes. For these reasons we have to try and ensure that such scarce funds are well managed and well spent and that the country gets maximum benefits from it. That applies equally at all levels whether as decision-makers, administrators or as recipients of assistance. We cannot afford waste, mismanagement nor, forbid it, any form of abuse. Too often we adopt a frivolous approach to relief assistance, ignoring the fact that in the donor countries themselves, there are citizens in need too. They must do without each dollar, piece of lumber, sack of cement, or bundle of galvanise donated for the use of Vincentians.

There are those among us who selfishly try to seize the opportunity, though not materially affected, to try and see what we can grab from relief supplies. Others wilfully waste or abuse the assistance provided, not realising that in so doing they are depriving others of critically needed resources. And, of course, there are the politically irresponsible elements, being unpatriotic to the core for purely narrow, selfish aims.

Given the scale of our disasters, what is the responsibility of our citizens as a whole to the recovery effort, particularly those of us not adversely affected, at least directly? If the government were only to call on us to pay a special levy to the relief effort, even as low as a $10 contribution, you could stay in Taiwan and hear the howling. But if the citizens of Taiwan can contribute, should we not do so as well? Where is our sacrifice to the national effort? We are fond of saying that the Gonsalves administration “begs too much”, but are we willing to bear the burden of our recovery efforts?

Then again, all our damage is not just attributable to “acts of God”, our own actions contribute as well. I speak here about our collective responsibility for the preservation of the environment. Governments over the years have had their own shortcomings, among them the failure to pay serious attention to good environmental practices. Just as it is important to practise safe sexual habits to prevent sexually-transmitted diseases, so too, sound environmental practices can help to minimize the damage from natural disasters. But after all the storms, rain and floods, look how we are clogging our drains, tossing cups, bags, any thrash on the side of the road and further increasing risks. Look at what we are doing to our forests?

The time has come for the government to take the lead, in a stepped-up, consistent programme of environmental awareness and education. In addition, it may well need to consider an environmental levy, especially on those businesses which contribute most to environmental pollution. We must take our collective responsibility seriously.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.