Ivan: Grand Cayman and Grenada
by Leroy Noel
Monday, October 11, 2004
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: The scars left by Hurricane Ivan in two
Caribbean islands, followed by the recuperation process, have left praises for
some and more questions than answers for others.
The principal difference between devastated Grand Cayman and hurricane-ravaged
Grenada was the quick response of the people led by the government on one hand
and a lack of direction on the other. Many
Grenadians are today complaining that at no time did the organization placed
in charge of disaster and emergency ever tell the people of that small
Caribbean island that they should seek refuge even when the hurricane was
almost at hand. In fact, when Grenadians were
entering the shelters, announcement were being made on radio stations by
disaster and emergency officials informing them that they had given no such
orders to do so. In such circumstances chaos
and anarchy abounded. So far as the
recuperation process is concerned, the assistance received by the people of
the Grand Cayman was maximized, quick action was taken and today everyone is
seeing the results. The respect shown by the
police officers in Grand Cayman for property and life was said to have been
second to none and one that should be emulated.
To the contrary, in the Spice Isle of Grenada some police officers
participated in looting stores and supermarkets, thus driving several of them
out of business and, in so doing, are partly responsible for hundreds of
workers now without a job. To add salt to
injury, Grenada’s Commissioner of Police admitted in a media conference that
some policemen participated in these reprehensible acts but was quick to add,
“They are humans too and suffered losses like anyone else.”
Sensible people in Grenada and elsewhere view this as the most outrageous
statement made post-Ivan by anyone in authority, let alone the Commissioner of
Police. As St Vincent’s Prime Minister Ralph
Gonsalves put it, “It’s a shame that these officers, who are supposed to be
protecting the people and upholding the law, were themselves breaking it.”
Grenada is a bigger island than Grand Cayman but the recuperation process had
little to do with resources, instead leadership played the vital role.
Just as the British and others came to the assistance of the people of Grand
Cayman so did the international community, especially Venezuela who sent a
contingent of military personnel among other aid and supplies, provide
assistance to Grenada. But in the case of
Grenada, partisan politics raised its ugly head, dividing this already
politically divided island even more, with reports of relief supplies being
diverted for the benefit of the ruling party and its supporters, to the
exclusion of many Grenadians in desperate need.
According to many, the lesson here is that partisan politics must be put aside
in time of disaster.
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