By Mervyn Crichlow San Fernando From Trinidad Express (Letter to the Editor)

Very commendable and timely the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago announced on Thursday any resident or citizen from storm-ravaged Dominica who could find accommodation and sustenance in this country would be welcome for an initial period of six months.

Dominica-born people who are currently resident and working in Trinidad would gladly welcome relatives and friends who have lost homes, jobs, schools and their way of life. A disaster coordinator to deal with operational arrangements for those arriving from distressed countries is perhaps now necessary.

The prime minister’s invitation and the firestorm of comments online and on the radio call-in programmes leave me distressed and very ashamed. Where will other Dominicans be housed? Who will feed “the refugees”? Is this a ploy to “voter-pad” the next general election? Criminality, greed and added strain on the local economy are a few of the highly emotive, negative and even racially-biased comments. One woman who lives in Government rental accommodation stressed priority should be given to repairing her house, while a young man bemoaned the fact in Trinidad he “can’t get water, food or a job”.

After the 2010 catastrophic 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, there was an offer to accommodate some of the displaced Haitians and the shameful outcry was much the same, including the hesitancy to accommodate French-Patois speaking people. With the current turmoil in nearby Venezuela, we are quietly witnessing an influx of Spanish-speaking people from the mainland.

In 1979 and again in 2015 the people of Dominica suffered catastrophic floods from tropical storms David and Erika. This month Dominica and all of the Caribbean islands experienced first-hand two extremely frightening and distressing hurricanes, Irma and Maria, followed by massive coastal flooding. With no place to live, work; maintain a family, or go to school, it’s a recipe for greater chaos—perhaps even psychological and emotional trauma.

Dominica has a total population of 73,543 (2016 census). Trinidad and Tobago has a population of 1,365,000 or 266.1 people per square kilometre over a land mass of 4,828 square kilometres. There are vast areas yet to be developed without negatively impacting this nation’s flora and fauna.

The prime minister made no mention of permanently accommodating our distressed neighbours. Curiously, there is silence over the 220,000 nationals’ resident in the USA; 88,900 living comfortably in the City of New York. (US Census Bureau 2014). In Canada, there are over 68,000 Trinidadian and Tobagonian citizens legally resident… and we are all aware of the hundreds of nationals who have overstayed their visits in those metropolitan nations.

There is no valid reason for the good people of Trinidad and Tobago to refuse residents of the devastated islands shelter, food, a home and a place to educate their children. I support the regional relief effort by providing supplies to the local Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM).

Those who are objecting to an influx of Caribbean “refugees” are perhaps unaware the original inhabitants of Trinidad and Tobago were Amerindians from the South American mainland, as well as people who fled tyranny or sought economic opportunity from places as diverse as Africa, France, India, Spain, Syria and our nearby Caribbean territories.

I well remember in 1995 when the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in Montserrat destroying two-thirds of that island. Several of those who came here settled peacefully and their offspring continue to make a positive contribution to our social, economic and political development.

My paternal and maternal heritage emanates from Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts and Martinique. They all migrated to Trinidad in search of an improved state of life and gave me birth in this cosmopolitan nation. Today

I have relatives and family who have moved on to reside in the US, Canada, England and Japan, among other places.

It would be a disaster of unspeakable proportion if the people devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria are left to wander in abject poverty. The commentary on social media and on the call-in programmes is shameful and a disgrace to this nation.

The holy books all admonish us to preserve the dignity of a neighbour in need. Indeed, in the Hebrew scripture (13:16) we are admonished to “not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God”. Some day we too may be in need. Where and to whom would we turn?

For more on this story go to: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170922/letters-to-the-editor/preserving-the-dignity-of-caribbean-people

IMAGE: Hurricane Maria path track – Business Insider