The Tribune

WHEN the first category 4 hurricane in 146 years to blow in unannounced so late in the year, not only did it devastate our southern islands, but it threw our government into a state of confusion.

Joaquin settled over the southern Bahamas for two days. It was no sooner turning to the north to take another path than Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner had partnered with Trans Island Airways’ owner Paul Aranha to take supplies to her Long Island constituents. However, lack of communication with the islands hampered their efforts.

Seeing the apparent inability of the government to give directions, a small group of women, organised under HeadKnowles, started the ball rolling to get help to fellow Bahamians left destitute in the wake of the vicious storm. The invitation that they had thrown out for all Bahamians to join them, quickly caught on as Bahamians from all walks of life came to the rescue to fill the HeadKnowles warehouse with essential supplies. The people of this country swept the government aside and organized their own relief for the south. The international community also rallied to the support of the Bahamas.

On Saturday, October 3, Prime Minister Christie gave a press conference at the Exuma airport where he announced that it would cost “tens of millions of dollars” to restore and rebuild the infrastructure of the southern and central Bahamas. Over that weekend, he led a delegation that included FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis to survey the destruction.

“I think at a time like this, a natural disaster is a time when you should preach unity,”said Dr Minnis. “After all,” he said, “Joaquin came in, Joaquin did not decide which was red, which was white. It just destroyed the southern islands.”

He requested churches around the country to preach messages of unity and ask for donations for victims.

“With respect to the FNM,” said Dr Minnis, “yes we’re working with the government, helping to bring unity, but we have supporters who would be suffering also. So we are organising. . .we had three planes that went into San Salvador carrying supplies and different things that are needed – we have other relief items – but it will all go through NEMA and be dispatched via that mechanism.”

Meanwhile, V Alfred Gray, MP for MICAL – the areas badly decimated by Joaquin – recommended that certain “heads should roll” over the failed response of government agencies to give an early warning of the approaching hurricane.

However, as our people moved through the islands, despite the devastation, Bahamians also complained about some of their politicians. We have a video of a Crooked Island resident who felt that he was unfairly treated by his MP. And while he showed the hurricane wreckage to our son, Robert, who went up with one of the groups flying in supplies, he also complained loudly about his MP — V Alfred Gray.

A woman pointing to flowing water was recorded as saying: “See where that water flows, he feels a backhoe is needed to clear the area so that the water can flow, but Mr Gray refuses to give him the job to do it… ” A man angrily interrupts her. “He won’t give me the job to do it, although I live here. I have the equipment in my back yard to do the job, but he won’t give me the job. He’s given the job to a man in Acklins to come here to do the job and because he didn’t have the equipment to do it, he had to go to his friend in Nassau to get the equipment to do the job and I live here in Crooked Island!” He said he lives only three miles from the location of the site, whereas the man who was given the contract lived many miles to the south in Acklins. From the loud anger recorded on that video, it would seem that Mr Gray’s head will be the first to roll.

Still in Crooked Island, this time at Landrail Point there were volunteers from the British Virgin Islands’ electricity company trying to restore the electricity to the settlements. They were laboriously climbing each poll. “It’s very hard on the legs,” one of the BVI workers told Robert. Only two bucket trucks were needed to complete the job that day. Didn’t the Bahamas have any bucket trucks? one of them asked. “Oh, yes,” was the reply. “We have 13, but they are all down (incapacitated) in the yard in Nassau!”

In Long Island, there is no hiding the bitter animosity to the government by many Long Islanders. Obviously many are smarting from the remark made by Fred Mitchell on a visit to Long Island in August when he met with residents. At that meeting he suggested that their island had not flourished under their MP Loretta Butler-Turner because of her attitude to the PLP government.

“My mother,” Mr Mitchell told them, “used to tell me when I was a youngster that you can get more with a dab of honey than with a bag of bile and so it seems to me that things could be better actually if the representative applied herself more to the tasks at hand in this constituency.”

In the House of Assembly, Mrs Butler-Turner took issue with the suggestion that her constituents were being denied by the PLP government what was their due because of her representation. She condemned Mr Mitchell’s remarks as a “vile and disgraceful” declaration that the PLP has victimised Long Island residents for years. She suggested that the Prime Minister should fire the “undemocratic, vicious and petty” minister of foreign affairs and immigration for this blatant admission.

On a visit to Long Island, the distinct impression one gets is that in general Long Islanders are against the government, and they don’t care who knows it.

Yesterday, we were told that a few days ago the Prime Minister landed in Long Island, but did not stay very long.

According to the story, the Commissioner of Police was sent ahead to inform Long Islanders of his arrival. Shortly after, so the story goes, the PM’s plane landed at Deadman’s Cay. His first question was: “Where are the people?”

Apparently, no one had bestirred themselves to welcome their Prime Minister. He got into the police jeep and was being driven off when the jeep ran over a piece of wood with a nail in it. One of the jeep’s tyres was punctured. The PM was stranded.

Apparently, he expected transportation to be provided, but had to be reminded that there had been a devastating hurricane and that a substitute car was not available.

It was then decided that whatever vehicle passed had to be flagged down to take the Prime Minister to his destination.

A pick-up truck was stopped. It is said that the truck driver informed the Prime Minister that they were full, so he would have to climb up onto the back “with the others”.

This he did, but gave instructions that he was to be driven back to the airport. He got on the plane and left.

“Dear God,” someone who also heard the story, remarked, “now Long Island will never hear the end of this!”

If what we hear is true, and knowing the people of Long Island, they probably “don’t give a toss” as the young people would say.