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| Red Cross volunteers who are continuing the hurricane relief efforts |
It’s obvious living near the airport that there’s been no
slowdown in the increased activity since the hurricanes devastated the nearby
islands of Saba, Statia and St. Maarten. The island of Bonaire, where I’m
staying, wasn’t hit by the hurricanes, but Saba and Statia are a part of this
country, so Bonairians are putting their hearts and souls into helping with the
recovery.
I counted four flights taking off and landing during the
time I was watching the sunset, evidence that the efforts to bring relief to
hurricane victims is going as strong as ever. The need doesn’t end when the
news coverage subsides, and as conditions deteriorate, the coordinated efforts
between the six Dutch Caribbean hospitals is more critical than ever. As the
fuel supplies dwindle on the affected islands, more and more patients whose
lives depend on generators have to be evacuated.
The two organizations of Medic Air and Fundashon Maridal are
working together to save lives; Medic Air has a medically equipped Learjet and
Fundashon Maridal provides medical crew for air ambulance providers and both
are working in coordination with the six hospitals in the Dutch Caribbean. By
the first weekend following the storm, 83 patients needing hospitalization were
airlifted to safety, and the work continues. Evacuees are typically brought
from the affected islands to hospitals in Aruba or Curacao, then the planes
land in Bonaire to refuel, load supplies and pick up more volunteers; and the cycle
repeats continuously.
Groups of volunteers are going to the islands to help with
the cleanup and delivery of food and water. The first group of volunteers
arrived on Statia on Sept 17 and the effort continues with volunteers staying
for one-week shifts. I talked with a couple of Red Cross workers who were at
the Cultural Market in Rincon this past weekend, and asked about how the
hurricane relief efforts were going.
I asked the young woman named Roshendra if they needed more
volunteers, but she said they are fully occupied with training the volunteers
they have. She told me this week they have been focusing on preparing the next
group of volunteers for going to the island. There’s a lot that’s invested in
each volunteer because they need to be very well informed about the conditions
they will be going into, not just that they will be without ordinary comforts,
but they will see people in very desperate conditions. They have more than
enough people already working with the Red Cross and local NGO’s waiting to be
trained to help. She didn’t say this, but it was clear to me that helping with
a donation is the best way to offer help.
The fresh group of trained volunteers were leaving for
Curacao that evening, and from there on to St. Maarten. The Dutch Red Cross
operates twenty-four shelters on St. Maarten and many are only tents. I asked
how many people are in the shelters, and I presume they don’t have the resources to do a
headcount because she looked at me as if the question was overwhelming, All she could say sadly was "It's a lot."
I met a volunteer who had returned, and I was careful not
to prod because it seemed clear he didn’t want to talk about it. The only thing
he would say was that it was horrible, and the violence was the worst. I took the opportunity to ask Roshendra her thoughts on how the volunteers were handling the experience.
“Yes, it’s very hard on them and we know this. We spend a lot of time preparing
them, but no one can fully understand before they go there.”
“The typical reaction they have is at the end of their stay,
they have a very hard time when they have to return. They don’t want to leave
when people there still need help. But we have to have them come back, we only
allow them to stay for one week at a time.”
I asked about making a donation, as I haven't found a way that
people could make a donation on-line. This is a small island, so if you want to
contribute to this organization, you have to make a deposit to account 41385602 at the
MCB bank in Kralendijk.
I want to thank all the wonderful volunteers who are doing so much to help others. They are truly remarkable people. Visit their website at http://afdeling.rodekruis.nl/afdeling/bonaire
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