THE EDITOR, Sir:
Despite Hurricane Ivan being a natural disaster, it gave me yet again reasons to proudly say I AM JAMAICAN! As I continue to follow the weather patterns in the Caribbean I am saddened and shocked daily. I am constantly praying for all the people who are enduring or will have to endure the next coming weeks.
It was with great pride that I was able to tell all my friends and acquaintances who called regularly that I was able to contact my parents every few hours throughout the hurricane. I was able to follow The Gleaner throughout, listen to local radio for bulletins and best of all chat on line with contacts throughout the island! And some people have the gall to refer to us as a third world country. Our buildings showed once again their superiority when compared to the match sticks I saw in the south of the United States from a weakened version of the same Ivan. I noticed that CNN in all its coverage did not manage to show the large percentage of houses that through good building policy, and a well informed population were still intact.
I was proud of the way our government, our people, our security forces and our utility companies showed how organised and on the ball we were. And the two and a half million Jamaicans living abroad, this is now our perfect chance to let ourselves be seen and heard. I hope we will all use this opportunity to show how much our country means to us by spearheading the relief efforts.
The NCB has already made it simple for us, and we know the instances we can approach. We can do this, we are capable of greater things, we are after all - JAMAICANS!
I am, etc.,
CLAUDIA RIJKER-BAKER
k.rijker1@chello.nl
Symfonielaan 513208 SE
Spijkenisse, The Netherlands
