IN THE process of engineering recovery from Ivan, we have been blessed with the generosity of other nations which have responded with donations of goods and services for immediate relief and long-term recovery.While it would be invidious to single out any one donor over another, we may be forgiven for taking note of the assistance which has come from the people of the French West Indies Guadeloupe and Martinique. Separated as we are from them by distance and by language, we tend to forget that we are all part of the Antilles and while we each have a unique identity and a history, we do share many similarities.
Be we Anglophone (English), Francophone (French), Spanish or Dutch, there is the common thread of ancestors enslaved, heritage influenced by Africa in all its diversity, and colonialism in one form or the other. Whatever the differences influenced by the past, we are drawn together today in a new world of modern challenges, of problems which require similar solutions. This gesture of assistance in this time of disaster, which has been made by the Antillean Departments of France, through the French Embassy here, serves to remind us that, while we may be far apart in geographical terms, we are one in our humanity.
The arrival of the ship Frances Garnier from Martinique last Thursday was welcome not only for the range of relief items which it brought but the thoughtful affirmation of friendship and solidarity. Farmers especially will be grateful to the Carrefour International Foundation (Guadeloupe branch) for providing agricultural implements. Martinique and Guadeloupe, being both islands where agriculture factors in community development, understand full well the importance of getting food production back on stream. Such discernment makes the gift even more meaningful.
We note with interest too, that the Government and people of France have also moved to assist Grenada and have indicated plans to give succour to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, all Antillean neighbours. These newly-accented bonds of good neighbourliness remind us that while the question of Caribbean unity through a political structure like CARICOM still awaits resolution, it is at times like these when we are called to respond to natural disasters that the imperative of co-operation takes precedence over geo-politics.
In that spirit, therefore, today we say 'Merci beaucoup' for the beneficence of our neighbours in Guadeloupe and Martinique, even as we express a heartfelt "Thank you very much" to all other neighbours around the Caribbean, in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe and elsewhere, wherever people of goodwill respond to our need. May we in turn be as generous in thought and deed when it's our turn to do for others, as they are now doing for us.
