Barbuda/Antigua When Hurricane Irma ravaged the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean, the ferocious storm "extinguished" the isle's way of life and left the beautiful spot "uninhabitable." And, now, for the first time in a few centuries, no one lives there.
"The damage is complete," Ronald Sanders, the Antigua and Barbuda ambassador to the United States, told Public Radio International. "It's a humanitarian disaster." "For the first time in 300 years, there's not a single living person on the island of Barbuda -- a civilization that has existed in that island for close to, over 300 years has now been extinguished. "The government believes that while some Barbudans might choose to stay in Antigua even after their island is rebuilt, many will want to go home. It's a small island, 62 square miles, and its residents have a strong sense of belonging. That's where their ancestors are buried, Sanders said. "Generations of people have lived on that island. They know nothing else. The commitment to that island is extremely strong. Wealthy individuals have made donations that add up to around $5 million or more and countries have come forward with immediate relief. The country is thankful for the help but Sanders notes that a few million dollars is a "drop in the bucket." A massive effort is required, he told CNN. "We're a $1 billion economy facing a $250 million problem," he said. "We need to look at how we get this island back into shape." He can't give a timetable for any of the steps to rebuild. It all depends on how much funding the country can raise. The first thing to do now is clean up so construction can start on buildings strong enough to withstand hurricanes. "The island is not exactly safe for anything to happen," he told CNN, saying it is filled with dead animals, water flies and rubbish everywhere. Electricity must be re-established and water needs to flow again. Antigua and Barbuda is in a different situation from other hard-hit Caribbean islands that are territories of larger and richer nations that can step in to help rebuild: the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, for example. The cost of rebuilding the Caribbean island of Barbuda left in ruins by Hurricane Irma could be as much as $300 million, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda has warned. He urged the international community to come to the aid of islands severely hit by the Category 5 storm. "We require probably about $250-300 million," Prime Minister Gaston Browne told TIME in an interview in Antigua on Tuesday. " The extent of the damage is beyond the means of these islands ... Global human cooperation is an absolute necessity." Barbuda, the first island to feel the force of Hurricane Irma was devastated by its high winds, with Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, saying 90% of buildings had been destroyed and 50% of the population of about 1,000 people left homeless. The island is now a near-deserted disaster zone. Almost all of its 1,500 residents left for the sister island of Antigua, a 90-minute boat ride away, ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Jose. “The biggest problem in Barbuda now is the fact that you have so many dead animals in the water and so on, that there is a threat of disease,” said the island’s foreign affairs minister, Charles Fernandez..
Please make a generous donation today so we can help the Island of Barbuda tomorrow and every day thereafter! Please help bring relief to this devastated Island State.
|