Hurricane Season

A hurricane is a force of nature that sweeps away everything in its way. It does not make any distinction between black or white, rich or poor. And yet, in our reactions to such catastrophic events, we still seem to manage to make such distinctions.

In the wake of the devastating effects of hurricane Katrina in 2005, of late we have been hearing a lot in the international media about hurricanes such as Gustav and Ike. Much of the media attention has been on the likely impact such hurricanes were to have on Louisiana and the US Gulf Coast, and more particularly on the oil-rigging installations in the region.

At the same time, however, the fact that prior to reaching the USA, these hurricanes would have already passed over many of the small Caribbean nations, leaving behind a trail of devastation and death, is often overlooked.

Caribbean states such as Haiti, which last month has had the misfortune of finding itself in the path of four hurricanes in a period of four weeks, are amongst the poorest in the world, thus their capacity for recovery and regeneration is significantly limited. The misery and distruction that such hurricanes leave behind them will be felt by the people in such countries for years to come.