[Rhodes22-list] Disaster in Granada

[Chris Geankoplis]

The following is a letter my sister sent to the rest of the family.  She is
a former Airforce officer and industry executive.  After leaving Granada for
Trinidad, she spent a day or two there, loaded up with food, water and
supplies and returned to the island to lend whatever help she could.  One of
her first efforts was to organize the remaining boating community to salvage
any watermaking equipment form the wrecked boats and set them up to begin
producing water for the many communities without water.  I must say that
nowhere in her letter does she even mention that she no longer has a
business nor a home (her boat).

Dear Family,

There are small pockets that were spared the devastating affects of
Hurricane Ivan, the vast majority of the island of Grenada: is simply a
disaster.

The island: no nutmeg trees left standing.  Nutmeg accounts for the primary
source of income for Grenada.  No mango, no papaya, no breadfruit trees.
The island, one of the most bountiful and beautiful in the world, has been
nearly denuded of it's forests and natural resources. Hundred year old trees
look like they were dynamited to stumps.

The infrastructure: There is no power on the island other than the
occasional generator.  The power lines are destroyed, or hanging in snarled
piles in the streets.  There is little running water.  Some small
communities are lucky enough that a communal tap has partial pressure.  No
water is drinkable without boiling.  Perhaps 1 or 2 percent of the shops are
open. Gas is scarce or impossible to get.  Two cellular phone companies,
Cable and Wireless and ATT, have partial operations.

The people: Few communities had designated shelters.  No emergency
announcements, no evacuations, no messages regarding how to prepare for the
hurricane were broadcast.  People in houses made of cinderblock or
concrete--perhaps 5 or 10 percent of the population, have houses standing
and relatively intact.  Houses made of timber, with corrugated roofing,
simply exploded.  At least one hillside collapsed with houses on it.

The island is very mountainous, with many roads washed out; the communities
are isolated and receiving little or often no food or aid as of one week
after the storm.  Although some help is on the way, the capability to
distribute it is very  limited.  Entire hillsides, with 50 or a hundred
homes, have nothing standing.  People are wandering the roads, looking for
food, shelter, anything.  The majority of the population lived on daily
wages.  They bought their day's food and necessities with the money they
made that day.  With the economy shut down, they have no way of earning to
pay for food, and nothing left to barter with.

The Grenadians, the vast majority, have strong community and church ties.
Every house that is still standing has taken in 2,4, even 10 families.  They
have no food for themselves but are opening their homes to others in need.
Grenada lacks the government planning and organizational skills to recover
quickly.  They are trying to recover from a complete loss of property, their
businesses, their jobs.  Hurricane Ivan blew through and scoured the country
clean of its ability to be self
sufficient.  Although there are some concerns with security, Grenadians as a
whole are helpful, friendly, and members of small, supportive neighborhoods.
They are in desperate need of help.

What they need to receive:  Dry foodstuffs--flour, yeast packets, sugar,
rice, oatmeal, dried milk, dried beans and legumes;
Tinned food--protein such as corned beef, chicken, beef, tuna, mackerel;
tinned veggies and fruit.  Tinned condensed milk,
baby food, baby formula.  Sundries such as diapers, batteries for
flashlights, flashlight bulbs, kerosene lanterns, extra
wicks, matches, candles.  Construction and shelter items--plastic tarps by
the thousands, plywood, galvanized roofing nails
in 3" to 2" sizes.  Bedsheets.

How to get it to Grenada:  The country of Trinidad and Tobago, their nearest
neighbors, have been wonderfully responsive.
Soon, however, they will run short of their ability to help, long before
Grenadians  needs are met.  I don't have a fund or account set up as yet,
but Steve can establish an account if you can spare any assistance. You may
also contact the Red Cross.

The  boating community in Trinidad/Tobago and also the surviving boats and
boaters in Grenada have jumped in to help
immediately.  Fishing boats, small workboats, private sailboats, barges,
tugs, have all traveled up full of supplies, some
arriving within 24 hours of the hurricane, already loaded with donations.
However, this is not enough to support 60,000
suddenly homeless people, who have lost their agricultural base for years to
come.

Anyone who has contact in the states with churches or organizations that
help rebuild in developing countries, or have experience with construction
missions, Grenada is in dire need.  I would like to make contact with anyone
stateside who can put us in touch to arrange for construction missions.

Meanwhile, I will try to make the best use of my next few weeks organizing
distribution lines into the interior and further
north on the island where Grenada's more isolated communities are located.
We will work in conjunction with International relief agencies that are in
place, and work to ensure our foodstuffs and materials go where they're most
needed.

Anyone who's looking for more direct involvement, that have medical,
organizational, or construction skills, there is a great need for helpers.

Greta Geankoplis

(Greta can be contaced at   Whiteheather at skyfile.com  Be sure the Subject is
"Greta & Relief"  this is an emil via a working satphone that someone has
allowed her occasional access to as I understand it.

Chris Geankoplis
S/V Passion
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Meltzer <mjm at michaelmeltzer.com>
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Date: Monday, September 20, 2004 7:38 PM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] boat show updated


boat show updated, some new, some bye bye.

MJM
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