Dominica hails TT relief effort

AZARD ALI

JOHN MCINTYRE, who was acting as Prime Minister of Dominica on Tuesday, has thanked the citizens of TT for donating the largest relief supply sent, thus far, to the hurricane-ravaged island.

He, together with members of the Dominica cabinet, welcomed a group of Trinidadians who were members of the Barakah Foundation and the ASH-NAD Foundation, who arrived on Wednesday by air. A day later, a 5,000-tonne barge docked in Roseau–Dominica’s capital – with bricks, galvanize and foodstuffs. The relief supplies, McIntyre said, were probably the largest bulk donation received by Dominica since Hurricane Maria destroyed most of the island’s infrastructure.

The relief drive started the week Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley called on citizens to open their doors and their homes to Dominicans, most of them having had the roof of their homes blown away.

Imam Mushtaq Sulaimani, of the Mucurapo Street, San Fernando mosque, in endorsing the Rowley’s call, said we are our brothers keepers and TT could, one day, face such a predicament from hurricanes.

Inshan Ishmael of the Barakah Foundation, Ashmead Ali of ASH-NAD and Sulaimani directed the drive which saw hundreds of citizens journey to Barakah grounds, Chaguanas where they dropped off a total of $2 million worth in building materials, foodstuffs, clothing, water, mattresses, medicines and baby items. The organisers then loaded a barge, sponsored by Ali, with 450 pallets of concrete blocks, 2,000 sheets of galvanize, 300 mattresses, eight cargo containers of packaged food items and 2,000 pallets of drinks among other necessities. The barge was loaded to full capacity, Ali added. Ishmael, Ali and Sulaimani flew in a private aircraft with members of their respective foundations to the port in Roseau where McIntyre greeted them along with members of the cabinet of the Dominican government.

McIntyre said, “It is so nice of you to greet us in this way in our very trying times. This is plenty love from Trinidad and Tobago. So far, we have been tasked with the responsibility of getting food for our people for the first two weeks. And this is probably, not probably, this is the largest donation we have gotten so far. We thank the people of Trinidad and Tobago.” In response, Ali said the hearts of the people of TT “are much bigger than the barge.”

Sulaimani told McIntyre and the cabinet that Dominica was part of the TT community.

John McIntyre, who was acting Prime Minister of Dominica on Tuesday, welcome members of the Barakah Foundation and ASH-NAD Foundation on their arrival in Roseau with relief supplies.