MAROONED: Families seeking safety on the roofs of houses in the flooded Haitian town of Gonaïves.
Prime Minister Owen Arthur is urging Barbadians to be as considerate and generous in helping their “black brothers and sisters in Haiti” at this time of peril as they have been with Grenadians.
In an impassioned plea to Barbados during yesterday’s private/public sector consultation, he reminded Barbadians that Haiti was a Caribbean country, but he was not aware of a regional programme of support for the Haitian people.

Instead, he said, “our region has chosen the path of a quagmire in deciding not to engage in support of Haiti”.

Arthur told leaders of Government, private and civic organisations gathered at Sherbourne Conference Centre for the talks, that he had requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform Government how best the country could be of financial and material help to Haiti.

Grenada and Haiti were recently battered by weather systems. Grenada was hit by Hurricane Ivan which claimed over 30 lives and left about 80 per cent of the population without shelter; while Tropical Storm Jeanne killed more than 1 000 in Haiti and left thousands homeless and without food or clean water.

Compliments of the Nation News

$1 million for Haiti - Sunday 26, September-2004

Barbados is giving Haiti $1 million to provide humanitarian assistance in the wake of Tropical Storm Jeanne.
This was announced yesterday by Prime Minister Owen Arthur who said this money would be offered to Haiti’s interim administration and would be drawn down in tranches based on need.

On Friday, Arthur appealed to Barbadians to help their brothers and sisters in the Caribbean island, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade was instructed to make recommendations on how Government could help.

Updating the situation, he told public and private sector leaders gathered at Sherbourne Conference Centre yesterday, the $1 million was an initial sum and Government would contribute to a regional programme of assistance.

In addition, the Prime Minister said he was advised that it was impractical for Barbados to consider assistance to Haiti in the form of tangible contributions like food items and clothing.

Haiti, however, requires help in epidemic prevention, and Arthur said; “Government will offer such technical assistance as is necessary to assist in containing the spread of any disease.”

Noting that some countries spoke in indices of poverty but Haiti spokes in terms of indices of misery, the Prime Minister said: “We must not allow this country, already suffering burdens created by circumstances of history to be further devastated by natural disaster without benefit of humanitarian intervention.”

Tropical Storm Jeanne has claimed over 1 100 lives in Haiti and Arthur said the toll seemed to be increasing while a further 1 200 remained missing.