As the volcanic activity on St. Vincent becomes more pronounced, regional governments are offering assistance if needed.
Nevis Premier Mark Brantley was among the first to offer words of support to St Vincent following Prime Minister Gonsalves’ announcement of the evacuation order on Thursday.
He said, “The situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines is worrying to us all. We are one Caribbean family and whenever a crisis hits any of us it affects all of us. The government and people of that great nation are in our prayers. We stand firmly with this in this time of difficulty.”
Anguilla’s Tourism Minister Haydn Hughes said, “What’s happening in St Vincent right now is a tragedy. It really brings up memories of what happened in 1995 in Montserrat,” he said.
“In 1995 the volcano in Montserrat erupted and the then Chief Minister of Anguilla, Hubert Hughes sent out a call to all Montserratians that they could relocate to Anguilla free of any immigration control and regulation. A number of Montserratians took up that call and are now resident in Anguilla and have been for the last 20-plus years.
“Now that this volcano is erupting in St Vincent, as a member of the Cabinet of the Government of Anguilla, we too are making that call to the Government of St Vincent. We stand ready and willing to assist them and their citizens in any way possible, even as it relates to the possible relocation of their citizens to Anguilla.”
Minister Charles Fernandes said the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is willing to accommodate 200 to 250 evacuees as soon as possible.
“The cabinet met with the various agencies to put something in place to ensure we will be able to do this,” Fernandes said.
Much like Anguilla, Fernandes said Antigua and Barbuda has had experience with situations like this before.
“In 1995 the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has basically most of Montserrat positioned in Antigua and Barbuda and as recent as 2017 the Government of Antigua had to bring the entire population of Barbuda, which I think was just about 2000, to Antigua because of the devastation of the hurricane there at the time.”
While they’ve done this before, Fernandes noted that this time around they will be faced with a unique set of challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I can say though, that the government of Antigua and Barbuda responded very quickly and came to a decision where we have to help. Everything is being put in place to ensure that it is done in a proper manner,” he said.
He said the number of displaced people from St Vincent they can accommodate will depend on the availability of rooms in Antigua and Barbuda.
He added: “That is where we are now, we met with the National Office of Disaster Services, we met with Immigration and we met with the Health Authority to ensure we put everything in place to accommodate them because of course, it is even more challenging now because of the pandemic.
“The plan is that we are going to house them and feed them. There is a hotel property that is not being fully utilised now, actually part of it is being used to quarantine returning Antiguan nationals.”
The government of Dominica has identified the Moroccan Hotel and several apartment complexes to house Vincentians who have been displaced following the evacuation of areas close to the La Soufriere hotel.
This was announced by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit who said last week that while he hoped the situation wouldn’t deteriorate to its current state, he has been in contact with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and is ready to assist.
He said Dominica would underwrite the cost to accommodate some of those forced to flee the home because of the imminent eruption of the volcano.
“We have identified the Moroccan hotel where we can house them as well as other facilities and a number of apartment buildings that we have at Picard as a possible accommodation that the treasury of Dominica would underwrite the cost associated with hosting anyone from Saint Vincent who has to be evacuated from that particular locality,” he explained.
PM Skerrit joins a growing list of countries that have voiced their willingness to host some of the displaced citizens.
Others include St Lucia, The British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda.
Prime Minister Skerrit said St Vincent is a “long-standing friend of Dominica” and both islands have shared strong bilateral relations for many years.
“So we stand in absolute and total solidarity with the government and people of Saint Vincent during this difficult time,” he said.
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CARICOM Offers Support to SVG
Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley said Thursday that the regional grouping had mobilized to support St Vincent and the Grenadines as it faces the possibility of an imminent eruption of the La Soufriere volcano.
Following an evacuation order of the immediate area around the volcano by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, CARICOM member states offered support to house evacuees from the affected area.
In a statement issued as residents were moving to safe zones or to board cruise ships that had arrived to transport evacuees to neighbouring islands, Rowley said the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) had activated its regional support operation, including the deployment of a specialist to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. CDEMA is providing technical assistance to NEMO with Evacuation and Logistics Planning.
“The Community stands with the Government and People of St Vincent and the Grenadines in this perilous situation,” said the CARICOM chairman who is in isolation and under medical supervision in Tobago after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
Earlier, the Trinidad and Tobago government had issued a separate statement promising its support.
It said Minister of National Security Stuart Young had instructed the Acting Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier General Dexter Francis, to have members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force on standby to provide any assistance that may be necessary.
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali also assured Prime Minister Gonsalves of his government’s “full support in dealing with this looming crisis”.
“The Prime Minister and I discussed immediate support, which will be required in the response. The Prime Minister indicated that apart from the need to evacuate citizens, there were other emergency material needs. I committed to him that Guyana, upon receiving the full list of their needs, would immediately put together a national response to supply the items and arrange for them to be shipped to St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he said.
“At this time, we would like to assure the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines of Guyana’s unwavering support and solidarity,” Ali added.
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