STATEMENT BY
THE HON. FRED MITCHELL MP, HEAD OF DELEGATION

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS

SPECIAL CONFERENCE CARICOM HEADS
Port of Spain, Trinidad

September 15^th, 2004 

On behalf of Prime Minister Perry Christie, the government and people of The Bahamas, I wish to thank the distinguished Prime Minister of Trinidad Patrick Manning for hosting this important conference in wake of Hurricane Frances and Ivan. I thank the Chairman of Caricom Dr. Keith Mitchell for convening this conference.  There is an important story of the Caribbean region that must be told.  The story is that while we have suffered trauma and damage, the Caribbean is not out for the count.  The region will survive.

Within the Caricom region itself, The Bahamas believes that the story of the destruction by Hurricane Frances in our islands should also be better known. The island of Grand Bahama in particular has been devastated by the storm.  The storm surges led to water in communities some eight feet high causing persons to have to be rescued from their homes in jet skis and boats. Families lost all of their worldly possessions including furniture, food, cars and personal mementoes and documents.  The historic community of West End, Grand Bahama has been particularly badly affected by the storm, with every home in that community being touched or destroyed by the storm.  A massive rebuilding effort must be carried out.  In Freeport, the country’s second city, the water damage, the flooding has been enormous.  Homes are still today without electricity and water.  The Government has been engaged since the storm struck one week ago in running a food and water supply line to the city.   The island of Grand Bahama is the home to a community and economy the size of St. Kitts and Nevis. All power and water was lost after the storm hit.

We wish to thank countries who have sent teams of linesmen to help to restore the supply: Belize, Barbados and Jamaica have teams on the island now.

You can imagine the shock to our country, when the nation's second most important economic centre has been off line for almost seven days.  There has been no power and water from that time to this in much of the city.  The tourism plant has been significantly affected in that city.  

The smaller communities on the island of Eleuthera like the settlement of Lower Bogue and on the island of San Salvador, reputed to be the landfall of Columbus in the settlement of United Estates were also devastated by the storm: both wind and water damage.  Food, water and shelter are the immediate needs of the populations in those areas that have still to be met.

This has enormous implications for our national budget that had look so hopeful at the start of the fiscal year.  The price tag is put by some estimates as high as 150 million dollars to get back to the status quo ante. Thankfully Nassau was spared any major damage and its economy is fully functioning.

That puts into some context the appearance that we make at this important conference, and the reason why the Prime Minister himself is unable to attend the conference.  I bring apologies on his behalf but right now there is a daily struggle to manage this matter.  Thankfully, there were only two deaths in The Bahamas.

I wish to thank all the countries of the region who have sent messages of support and sympathy to the Bahamian people.  I know in particular that the Prime Minister valued the conversations that he has had over the last few days with the Jamaican Prime Minister, with Prime Minister Manning, the Premier of Bermuda and with the Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands.   There was also quite a moving letter by Prime Minister Skeritt of   Dominica. We thank all of you.  And we offer our sincerest appreciation. I myself have spoken to many Foreign Ministers since the storm, and Ambassador Leonard Archer has been in touch with many of the countries affected by the storm.

Further, we extend to all countries that have been affected by the storm our sincerest condolences and sympathy on the tragic loss of life and property.  Our hearts go out in particular to the people of Grenada, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Cayman Islands where the losses have been substantial.   We in The Bahamas could better face the difficulties of our own national trauma when we realized that even in the face of our own difficulties, we were relatively lucky.  Some people in our region have lost everything including loved ones, and if we are not careful as a region in how we respond to this crisis, we may be facing the destruction of a country, a way of life and society.  It is important therefore for this conference to act with some alacrity to deal with the crisis which faces us. Caricom has never been more challenged to respond to the needs of the region.  This is in many respects the ultimate test of its usefulness to our people.

Prime Minister Christie has shared with this fellow Prime Ministers the need to act with dispatch.  In that connection, I believe that our representative at the Organization of American States along with that of Barbados and other Caribbean delegations have been speaking about a donors’ conference to be held that will seek aid for the region in a concerted way.  Foreign Ministers of the region should be put on their bicycles to market the need for some immediate concentrated aid for the region and for Grenada in particular that faces collapse if there is not a strenuous effort to get help.  Even in our circumstances, I am authorized to say that The Bahamas stands ready to help in whatever ways that we can.

Finally, Mr. Chairman The Bahamas believes that there are lessons to be gleaned and learned from this experience.  In particular, The Bahamas is concerned about the necessity for the communication links to be improved and maintained in times of storms.  There ought to be a way in a crisis of catastrophic proportions like this to still get in touch with national leaders and ministries across the region.  This must be a matter of more planning and investment in the infrastructure and equipment for the communication.  There must also be some effort at civil defence planning in the face of an impact like the storm. There should be a greater concentration on how to mobilize resources in the future.  We noted with great concern the near breakdown in civil order that these storm impacts tend to cause.

It is our belief that the region will rise above this.  It is important for the world to know we are still open for business. Our respective tourism Ministries and the Caribbean Tourism Organization should let the word go forth.  If the economies continue to function then we can solve the problems. Let us then pursue the things that will get our economies back up and running, building up the common life and returning our societies back to the stability and order that we knew before these storms.