Guyanese urged to make right decision
GREAT BAY- In his official capacity as Guyana’s first Honorary Consul on St. Maarten, Cleveland Beresford said that now is the time for fathers to make some hard decisions if they want to help in the rebuilding of the country they now call their homes.
Through the intervention of Mrs. Kim Lucas-Felix, Vice Principal at the St. Maarten Academy, Guyanese residing here were kept informed about the very important meeting which took place at the school yesterday afternoon.
From the attendance, it was evident that the notice she first posted on Whatsapp for circulation did reach a cross section of the society especially entire families that are now homeless due to Irma’s devastating passage across the island.
The main purpose of the meeting however was to determine who wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to return to the land of their birth, courtesy of the Government of Guyana who will be making a plane available.
Many questions were raised by those in attendance and apart from Lucas-Felix and Beresford, Keoma La Hamer, a Guyanese who works in the Prime Minister’s Office, was also addressed the gathering.
The three most important issues addressed were, those who had lost their entire homes and wanted to be evacuated, those wanted to leave for personal reasons and those who will be staying but are in need of assistance.
As a direct result of what transpired at the meeting, the names, passport numbers and intended address of those who have indicated their intentions to take the free flight out will be sent to the Minister of Citizenship, the Honorable Winston Felix.
After the meeting, Beresford spoke briefly with this newspaper about the current situation Guyanese are faced with. “We are at a serious cross roads where the right choices have to be made, currently the economy is destroyed, many people don’t have homes and many are now unemployed because of the hurricane.” Beresford said.
… time for fathers to make some hard decisions…
Because of the state of affairs, Beresford said he suggested that the wives and children that are affected travel to Guyana. “That way, it will give the husbands the freedom to get involved in the rebuilding, make money and still be able to support their respective families. In addition, the children will also be able to get into a school while there, he added.
On the topic of choices, Beresford said that it was vitally important for each parent to think before making a move at this point. His reason for saying so was if both parents with legal status leave at this time, it will be very difficult for them to return. “If they don’t have a job here, or a house here, how can they support themselves if they both leave? But if one stays, an entire family will stand a better chance because the husband was directly involved in the rebuilding and can take the credit for his commitment to the country he has called his home for a number of years.
According to Beresford, those that remain and are actively involved in a constructive way will be able to get the much needed recognition from within the St. Maarten community.
In closing he said now is the time for some people to have a career change which is one of the most important factors in the rebuilding process on this 37 square mile island.
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