The "Calm" After The Storm

Well, for the most part we have made it through Hurricane Ivan, allbeit in several pieces. The island suffered much damage which I saw first hand this morning on my drive to work.

Now, during the Hurricane, the scum of the earth and scavengers of mankind sought to feed their own benefits. The looters had a ball. The residents of a place called Caribbean Terrace in Harbour View I gather, were forced out of their homes when the sea came and took away the entire structure - yes, concrete structures floated about like toy boats in a bathtub. After they were given evacuation notice, within hours there were news reports of looters, making off with the belongings of these people in a desperate situation. How Sad! Very Sad indeed! :( There were also reports of looting at major car dealerships in Kingston, furniture stores, pharmacies and supermarkets just to name a few. When will we get out of this mentality of taking advantage of an unfortunate situation? In the middle of disaster, there is war brewing down town, shooting and death - in aid of what? Only the Lord himself knows.

There are several families left homeless, most of us waterless, lightless and a few of us telephone-less. CWJ got lots of praises this time around as they were one of the first utilities to go down during Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

All that can be heard of is loss - loss of life, loss of property, loss of revenue. 16 years after Hurricane Gilbert, there are persons who still have not yet recovered fully from its unslaught. What of them now that Ivan the Terrible has left its mark on Jamaica?

As we begin to pick up the pieces, it will take us a very long time to get back on our feet. One good thing is that water and electricity has already been restored to some areas and this is something to be commended. Although, I am not one of the fortunate few, it is still evidence that much preparation was put into this disaster. We learnt much from Gilbert.

Once again, we must give God thanks for keeping his guiding hand over our island home and keeping us save. It could have been a lot worse and we ask further for his guidance as we recover from this terrible travesty.

More time.