Heather Robinson
LIFE IN Jamaica is certainly never boring. There is always something happening that makes Jamaica an exciting place to live. Unfortunately last week we were exposed to a type of excitement that no Jamaican welcomes, or so we hope. Hurricane Dennis came during the daylight hours, and gave us all the opportunity to see him at work in our various communities.
Dennis found me more prepared than I was for Ivan, as this time with the aid of a simple sealant (about $600) I was able to seal the bottom of all my windows and there was no water seepage and my stored copies of The Gleaner are all still intact. There was no loss of electricity at all, and I was therefore able to watch local television and The Weather Channel and listen to Radio Jamaica . My cleaning up activities lasted about forty minutes and I was able to go to work at my normal 7:30 a.m.
There was not much to do at work, and so I proceeded to Bull Bay to see what had happened there. By now most of you reading this will have seen for yourself the damage there from the local television footage and newspaper photographs. The place appeared to be buried under thousands of metric tons of mud, sand, stones, boulders and man-made garbage. The sea was rejecting all that had been washed down into it. One man was able to safely rescue his two spare tyres that had been washed down on the coast line. Sitting on one portion of the beach was a metal tank that could have once transported petroleum products. The waters from Dennis had placed it there. One man who had braved the surging sea was lucky to have caught an eight-pound snook, and was guaranteed more than one good meal for the day.
During Friday I heard some very interesting comments on Dennis. Most Jamaicans appeared to have decided that hurricanes are dangerous, and should be taken seriously. But there were and are some who believe that there is very little personal responsibility that one should assume in preparing for a hurricane. And as to after the hurricane the sole and total responsibility belongs to that thing called 'government'.
One of the blessings of modern Jamaica in 2005 is the fact that we are never taken by surprise by any hurricane. We are always given several days notice. Imagine what our forefathers in the eighteenth and nineteenth century must have had to endure when these hurricanes came without any warnings from the Colonial Office, and certainly none from the Meteorological Service or the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.
One of the most interesting comments I heard was that of a woman who complained about the toughness of the bedding at her shelter. One got the distinct impression that government was expected to provide Sealy posturepedic mattresses (with pillow top), produced on Spanish Town Road. And, of course, there should have been large bowls of hot thick beef soup. Jamaica needs to decide if shelters are supposed to be equivalent to two or three-star hotels. They are temporary places of protection, and even when persons choose to stay with relatives, comfort levels will never be like that of your own clean, dry home.
PROTECT OURSELVES
There are some simple things that we can do to protect ourselves and our neighbours. First secure all loose materials or garbage that can enter the drain or gully near to you, even when it does not belong to you. Never depend on government to feed you after the hurricane. Protect the food you have. Protect the children and the very old. Do not take chances. Water is nature's most destructive element. And if you are about to purchase a new home, now is the best time to visit the site.
Government has a responsibility to make sure that water can flow freely through our rivers, gullies and drains. But as citizens, we also have a responsibility not to place garbage in these places, and then complain that no money was granted to clean same. The little things that we can do will make a big difference. We cannot live waiting on someone else to assist us.
Communities must demonstrate that they have done all that is humanly possible. This will encourage private citizens to assist them, and possibly embarrass elected representatives into responding.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
