By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 15, 2021 – During a virtual regular meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday, April 14, His Excellency Sidney Collie, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the OAS, on behalf of the government and people of The Bahamas expressed “solidarity with and support for the Government and people of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines in the wake of the eruptions of the La Soufriere Volcano, and for our sister countries Barbados, Grenada and Saint Lucia, also experiencing the negative impacts of that volcanic activity.”
Ambassador Collie said The Bahamas’ delegation “fully associates itself with the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Trinidad & Tobago (Ambassador Anthony Phillips-Spencer), in that delegation’s capacity as Chair of the Caribbean Community, and would like to offer additional remarks in its own national capacity.”
“Delegations will recall that on 1st September 2019, Hurricane Dorian, an unprecedented destructive force of wind, rain and sea surge, ripped into the islands of the northern Bahamas, in what the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Most Honourable Hubert Minnis, describes as a generational tragedy for our country,” Ambassador Collie said. “Like Hurricane Dorian in my country, the eruptions of the La Soufriere Volcano will undoubtedly have long-lasting effects on the infrastructure and environment of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and to the livelihood of the people of that great island chain.”
Ambassador Collie added: “Secretary General Almagro, in his visit to The Bahamas in 2019, noted that enhanced response to natural disasters requires the efforts of the entire international community, not just those most vulnerable. It is in this spirit of camaraderie that Prime Minister Minnis and his Cabinet are readying the Government’s resources to deploy monetary assistance to the Government and people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
“The impacts of such natural disasters like the eruption at La Soufriere are further exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a situation that Small Island Developing States know all too well, often operating in a recurrent recovery mode, cycling from one crisis to the next. It is in this vein that The Bahamas is pleased to support the resolution Solidarity with and Support for the People and Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Continuing, Ambassador Collie said: “The work of the OAS toward strengthening its facilitative role in natural disaster preparedness and response in the Americas must continue unabated. This Organization is one of the few global institutions where there is broad accessibility to technical assistance and capacity building; it is therefore uniquely equipped to advocate for Member States in the global arena and mobilize necessary resources.
“We look forward to the Organization’s continued work in this regard for the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada and Saint Lucia, through the Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction and beyond.”
