Long Live Dominica !

-
The Caribbean Is One Nation.


Submitted by the Mahogany Coconut Group
Dominica National Flag
We join with all those expressing sympathy with our brothers and sisters in Dominica, who have been greatly damaged by the Tropical Storm Erika. We express our sadness for the families of those who lost their lives during this natural disaster. The news is even more devastating, when the Prime Minister, of Dominica, Mr. Roosevelt Skerrit, states that the damage will set the country back by twenty years. Taken in everyday language this means that gains made for the last twenty years would be wiped out and those projected for the next twenty will now have to be put back. All we can hope is that they are not delayed by another twenty years.
Ironically, as the people in New Orleans, remember Hurricane Katrina, after ten years, they are saying that while some progress has been made, there is still much to do, ten years after the devastation. It therefore follows that if the mighty United States of America cannot get New Orleans back on its feet after ten years, there is little hope, from a purely economic perspective that Dominica‘s recovery will be swift.
We have long posited that the major threats to our region include our careless approach to the management of the environment and rising crime. When disasters such as hurricanes occur they make the protection of the environment even more difficult and lead to additional pressure on very limited resources. Citizens who have to rebuild from nothing, after having so little in the first place, can become despondent and this leads to two extremes: one, an urgent and community based effort to overcome the difficulties and a lingering negativity about their future prospects. In times such as these, there must be steadfast and energetic leadership designed and executed to halting desperation, hopelessness and negativity. We suggest it is by no means an easy task.
We encourage and know that all the Caribbean will assist in making sure that Dominica is given all the needed assistance with its efforts to rebuild and move forward. With our support the process of recovery will be shorter and some of the gains made over the last twenty years will be saved and not lost forever.

Long Live Dominica!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Me and V: a personal introduction to gay tolerance

-
Image
One Caribbean Nation. By William Skinner Me and V: a personal introduction to gay tolerance I must have been around nine or ten years old. V was a well-known gay citizen, who lived in my beloved hometown of Britton’s Hill, in the parish of St. Michael, Barbados. My earliest recollection of V was his apparent penchant for dressing in white. I seldom saw him in a long pants, and he walked with an amazing rhythm. Even at that early age, I realized that he was very effeminate. He always seemed busy   out and about in the Brittons Hill area and it was obvious that everybody knew him, and his notoriety was island wide. I also noticed that he was always exceptionally clean. Later, I would learn that he was also known as a popular pudding and souse vendor, who carried on his trade in the vicinity of Nelson Street, in the city. He was well loved and respected in Britton’s Hill; along with that respect came good-natured heckling. One day, around midafternoon, about three of my childhoo
Read more

International Women's Day : Our Caribbean Women, Our Hope

-
Image
One Caribbean Nation As we celebrate International Womens’ Day, we are cognizant of the role our Caribbean women have played in the cultural social and economic growth of our region and evolving Caribbean civilization. They , like our men , have risen from the depths and decadence of slavery , to the highest political and corporate ladders in the region. They have given birth, to millions and have made and continue to make significant contributions to those in the Diaspora. In many cases, where they were not the biological mothers, they nurtured, cared and developed those , who were deprived of parenthood , and socio-economic hope. They are in our classrooms, directing young and fragile minds , how to navigate a world that we in the region , must forever avoid being dragged into conflicts of the so-called super powers. They are pursuing all the opportunities of our tertiary educational institutions, including the University of the West Undies, often in higher numbers than our men. I
Read more

Barbados Elections 2013 and Cash

-
Image
The Mahogany Coconut Group submits that the real vote buying is in the upper echelons of our society. What we witnessed on Election Day was some voters getting   cash, cell phones, IPods and a bill paid here and there. The real votes were bought by those shadows- black and white, - who Dr. Don Blackman referred to a few decades ago! Of course Dr. Blackman talked only about white shadows but the corporate landscape has dramatically changed over the years – we now have shadows of all colors and ethnicities. While we shout from the roof tops about what took place on elections day, we bury our heads in the proverbial sand, by refusing to ask one simple question: How did the two political parties, both claiming to be rather financially impoverished, raise a conservative estimate of over twenty million dollars to pour into a three week campaign? We ask Dale Marshall (BLP) to tell us about the successful “cake sales and car washes” that raised their money. We ask Ronald Jones (DLP) to t
Read more