BY LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH

July 2^nd is a day that is forever ingrained in my memory.

Why?

It was the day that Barbados was hit by a Tropical Storm that intensified to a Hurricane. It was the first hurricane to hit Barbados in sixty-five years.

It’s hurricane force winds struck my beautiful homeland leaving our island in darkness.

I remember it well; it was mid-morning, and I heard the wind howling in the trees, it woke me up. I remember listening to the wind and saying “Elsa is here!”

Initially, my mom asked me if we had any water coming through the windows but through the grace of God, we were fine, no damage. Our home was intact, and we were fine despite being without electricity for seven days after the storm hit my beautiful island. It left our picturesque paradise with fallen trees, palings, damaged roofs and lives that would never be the same.

In an article published by Barbados TODAY on July 3^rd, 2021, it noted that there were 1,178 initial reports of damage:

• 2- flooding
• 7- Water Damage
• 13- Roads Impassable
• 15- electric outage
• 15- roof leaks
• 60- fallen poles
• 62- houses collapsed
• 85- fallen trees
• 89- house damage
• 743- roof damage
• 87- with other concerns

Since then, there have been further reported cases of structural problems to Barbadian’s homes. In a press conference held by the Government of Barbados a few days after the passage of Hurricane Elsa, there were 2,372 issues reported to the Department of Emergency Management, with 1,333 persons reporting roof damage and 326 individuals reporting other damage.

As of July 13^th, 1,300 Barbadians were reported on the Barbados Light and Power Company to not have electricity in their homes.

Barbados was not the only country impacted by the fury of Tropical Storm Elsa, which has been confirmed as a Category One Hurricane.

In Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness in an article published with Nation News outlined that the impact of Tropical Elsa has been far reaching, and has cost the island $803 million Jamaican.

“The estimates for flood damage are very preliminary, as the storm ended on Sunday and the agency is continuing damage assessment to determine the cost for permanent repairs. The assessment, to date, is divided into two categories – cost to clean and clear roadways and drains of silt and debris and cost to make the roads accessible,” Holness told Parliament.

“Regarding the cost to clean and clear roadways and drains of silt and debris, the preliminary cost has been put at $443 million. Another $360 million will be required to make affected corridors accessible. We are, therefore, looking at a total cost of approximately $803 million,” he added.

Holness said these costs are based on equipment time using standard rates and materials for filling washed-out areas. He noted that these costs cover: road clearance, drain cleaning, creating access and patching, adding that no costs for rehabilitation and other permanent repairs are included.

“I must point out that the cost to clean and clear the roads and drains of silt and debris focuses on removing the physical obstacles on the roads and providing clear access for communities. Much of this has been done,” he said in an interview with Caribbean Media Corporation.

Moreover, the island of St. Lucia has sustained damage as well in a report by Caribbean Media Corporation. The Prime Minister Allen Chastanet estimated that the island suffered losses estimated at $34 million when the hurricane passed on Friday.

“The greatest amount of damage was in agriculture,” said Prime Minister Chastanet, flanked by Infrastructure Minister, Stephenson King and Agriculture Minister, Ezechiel Joseph.

Prime Minister Chastanet told the nation that Hurricane Elsa had also damaged several houses including the state-owned project in the heart of the capital, Castries.

Unfortunately, in St. Lucia individuals have died since the hurricane struck their country less than two weeks ago.

According to an article in the Associated Press, it is reported that one person has been reported dead in St. Lucia following Hurricane Elsa. In addition, a fifteen-year-old boy and a seventy-five-year-old woman died Sunday in separate events in the Dominican Republic after walls collapsed on them.

What is so heart-breaking about the reporting deaths in St. Lucia and Dominican Republic is that there was nothing the families could have done to save their loved ones.

Preaching about disaster management and prevention currently is insensitive. To these persons who lost their families, they will forever be reminded that less than two weeks ago a Tropical Storm that strengthened to a Hurricane took their loved ones from them and wreaked havoc in their homelands.

BY LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH

We have all heard the popular phrase, “It is not what you say but how you say it!” I believe this is especially true in the Caribbean. Many times we say things to others such as “Mi love ah browning, you dark as night, star-black, blackie chan etc,” without realizing that these phrases popular in the Caribbean are discriminatory and continue to perpetuate colourism.

This notion is why colourism in the Caribbean, which stems from the plantation society model, is still an on-going human rights issue because of how different colours of person are treated daily on the island.

In Jamaica, colourism is an issue throughout their community. The majority of Jamaican women find that the lighter they are the more they are accepted. Since the late 2000’s bleaching has been a common norm as Jamaican women think that they would be socially accepted in circles.

But why is colourism a human rights issue?

In an article by the United National Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner it stated that colourism leads to prejudice amongst persons of darker skin tones. “Sewell said that prejudice against darker skin tones has led to human rights challenges. Sewell recently launched a campaign in Jamaica to raise awareness of colourism among other human rights issues. The campaign called DarkSkinInJA uses social media to highlight the double standard and discrimination that happens to people with darker skin colour in Jamaica.”

The Jamaican Medical Doctor Association (JMDA) said that colour prejudice is one of the human rights concerns its members have noted in interactions between patients and medical staff.

“In a booklet issued in June 2019 called “Health Care The “Rights’ Way: Centering Human Rights in Patients’ Care,” the association noted that patients with lighter complexions are treated more favourably than those with darker hues when seeking medical attention at public hospitals and clinics. In addition, the prejudice encourages harmful practices such as skin bleaching which 11% of the country’s population undertakes.” 

In June 2020, residents took to Kingston Jamaica in a Black Lives Matter protest. The protesters argued that the victims of police brutality, namely Susan Bogle and Mario Deane, had two factors in common: they were poor and they were dark-skinned.

Because of this, colourism is not only a Caribbean issue but also a human rights issue because persons are being treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin. It is deeply rooted in countries all around the world as many countries have bought into the European standard of what is beautiful.

It is not only in Jamaica that there are issues of colourism. In March this year, the Duchess of Sussex claimed that a member of the Royal Family was concerned with the colour of her son’s skin, which sparked international outrage.

In an article written by The University of Alabama it argued that in India, young girls are trained from a young age that fairer skin is desirable. “For generations, the Indian society has been brainwashed into the ideology that fairer skin is more desirable leading to the nation developing a multibillion-dollar skin lightening industry.”

The article charges that popular international companies also enhance the ideal of “lighter” being better as they offer lightening creams and soaps that can allow individuals to become “desirable” because of their lighter complexion.

The question arising out of this is are these multibillion-dollar industries promoting a major human rights crisis across the world?

Is what they are doing legal?

Should they be held accountable for any mistreatment that a dark-skinned person receives?

Should they be seen as perpetrators of colourism?

If the United Nations sees it as a violation of one’s human rights, then should international leaders put a policy in place to handle the issues that pertain to colourism especially as it relates to subpar treatment in various sectors primarily health.

BY LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH

Two years after category five Hurricane Dorian rocked the Abaco Islands, the small island is still coming to grips with the adverse impact it has had on the lives of Bahamians.

The panel discussion, held by the Centre of Biosecurity Studies at the University of The West Indies, was under the theme of Stories of Disaster Recovery Voices From Hurricane Dorian It was held on May 19^th, 2021. The Honorable Adrian Gibson (Executive Chairman, The Barbados Water and Sewerage Corporation), said that to date the damage from Hurricane Dorian is valued at 3.4 billion.

“This was a grand disaster in the history of the Bahamas resulting in at least seventy-seven recorded deaths, with some still missing and the question recording the true number of missing among our large patient immigrant communities. Thousands of homes destroyed, businesses displaced, and many thousands displaced and total damage of some 3.4 billion USD,” he said.

Gibson gave a brief report of the challenges the water and sewage ministry faced in the first two months after the all clear was given on September 5^th, 2019.

“Challenges faced during this period included staffing. As I outlined previously, due to the severity of the damage, many of our Abaco staff had to be relocated to New Providence as this meant that we had to fly in other temporary staff from other islands for short durations.

The other challenge was housing. In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, it was very challenging to find suitable housing for our temporary staff. Our first waves of post-storm personnel had to use our generators and non-damaged apartments we were able to source with some having to sleep in our offices.

Another challenge was transportation as with no stores open, all of our supplies had to be moved by air or sea with others competing for those same supplies and logistical routes. Many of our vehicles had storm-related damage and it was difficult to locate rental vehicles as many were destroyed and or damaged. Communication also posed another challenge.”

The Member of Parliament for Long Island said that the overall initial damage to the Water and Sewage system is estimated to cost between 15-20M USD and that the amount has since increased by a further 13-15M USD.

Gibson said that the country is still seeking to rebuild two years post-Hurricane Dorian and that they have had recent challenges with their rebuilding exercise as they had some stoppages due to the onset of COVID-19.

“The principal challenge during this challenge – in addition to those outlined – was the onset of the global pandemic in March 2020, and its impact on national and global finances, commerce, movement and supply chains. National priorities have to be realigned to match the national fall of Government revenue and the [significant] increase in our social systems.”

Moreover, he noted that the combined effect of Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 resulted in an 80% decline in the amount of cash donations they received, which was the second-largest revenue source after New Providence.

The Executive Chairman of the Barbados Water and Sewerage Corporation said that one of the initiatives of the Bahamas Water and Sewerage Corporation was to ensure that the potable water systems in his country could withstand 200 MPH.

“All sewage systems in Abaco must be built stronger. Some of the initiatives implemented include that all new portable storage tanks must be designed to take 200 MPH winds when empty. All new buildings must be elevated. New standby generators must be installed on elevated cliffs. Water mains along coastal roads must be installed on the opposite end of the roadway. Each standby generator must have a minimum of five days of fuel stored.”

Gibson was one of the panelists on a panel discussion which included Dr. Ancilleno Davis who is the Principal and CEO of Science and Perspective and Head of Mission, Embassy of Barbados Caracas Commander Aquinas Clarke. The panel discussions are held quarterly.