Disaster challenge for TT

My post mortem begins with seeking to clarify what precisely constitutes a “natural disaster.” For too long this nation has been operating under the premise that “God is Trini.” While this may be humorous to many, too many others hold this to be some ordained truth.

A young man somewhere in Vega de Oropouche sitting on the trunk of a submerged car, smiling, says that most of us manage to maintain our sense of humour, despite adversities. It is also an indication of our recklessness combined with our inability to understand the seriousness of the matter at hand.

Nonetheless, natural disasters must be understood as separate from man-made disasters. I maintain that most of what we call natural disasters in Trinidad, in particular floods, and are really man-made disasters.

Having assisted people affected by floods in the past, the knee-jerk response from governmental agencies has been distributing food hampers to people whose kitchen appliances were under water. I have also watched while the regiment distributed mattresses to “needy” people who would “need” as many mattresses as they could carry. This was practised year in year out, with no accountability.

I observed firsthand where an individual went off with four mattresses on his head and announced to others that “they giving out mattresses round the corner” and everyone proceeded to collect as many as they could carry. Meanwhile, the real issue is never addressed.

A disaster cannot be “natural” when people willingly and knowingly build in flood-prone areas, then hold prayer vigils, annually, to escape floods. This is sanctioned irresponsibility when we are known to have two seasons in a tropical climate: dry and rainy. One may recall recently part of the Manzanilla road being washed out, along with a home on the beach. The owner all but demanded that the Government rebuild her home. I am not a religious or even spiritual person, but one of the good books speaks to the man who built his house on the sand. To build in flood-prone areas and then hope not to be flooded surpasses sheer ignorance. That the authorities, be they Town and Country, regional corporations, boroughs et al, continue to deal with such on an annual basis is frightening and irresponsible, to say the least. The same people get flooded out and need assistance as part of an annual ritual.

As long as either governmental agencies, NGOs and/or private citizens continue to “donate” to these annual rituals, people who claim victim status will come to believe they are entitled such to assistance with each rainfall.

This nation has “farmers” who have gotten wealthy from government subsidy by claiming to have lost millions in crops when they never planted anything, the evidence having been “washed away.” One of the hallmarks of a nation acquiring developed nation status demands that citizens move away from irresponsible behaviour.

The challenge is how do we get citizens to move from believing that God is a Trini to understanding that their actions have reactions, often with serious consequences; and to prevent them from engaging in such reckless and irresponsible behaviour in the future? Does the Government have a responsibility to its citizens? And what precisely is that responsibility? Furthermore, where does Government’s responsibility end and an individual’s responsibility begin? Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley recently spoke briefly on the role of government.

But as citizens we, too, have a responsibility, if only to ourselves and our families to insure their safety by not placing them in harm’s way.

RUDY CHATO PAUL, SR D’Abad