~ Psychological expertise centre to be used ~
THE HAGUE–The Danish Red Cross has been asked by the International Red Cross to make an assessment of the psychological assistance needed in St. Maarten, it was announced during a meeting in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Wednesday.
“There is clearly a need for psycho-social assistance. The Danish Red Cross has an expertise centre for psycho-social assistance and we want to ask them to make an assessment, to determine which parties there already are and how that capacity can be strengthened to better address the issue,” said Netherlands Red Cross International Assistance head Juriaan Lahr.
The Netherlands Red Cross was invited to inform Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations about the work it has been doing in St. Maarten since Hurricane Irma struck the island early September 2017. In the weeks after the hurricane, the organisation mainly focused on providing relief aid in St. Maarten, and less on psychological assistance.
“Our primary focus and capacity were not the providing of psychological assistance. Some time back, we considered an assessment, but we consciously waited for a while to see if other parties would pick up on this matter,” said Lahr.
Responding to questions of Member of Parliament (MP) Antje Diertens of the Democratic Party D66, one of the three MPs who were present for the meeting, Lahr explained that at this time there were only indications that insufficient psychological assistance had been provided. “An assessment is needed to determine that. We have the means to provide psycho-social assistance if needed,” Lahr said.
Red Cross Programme Coordinator Jesper Jansmeijer said the possible increase of sexual gender-based violence since the hurricane was a point of attention. MP Joba van den Berg of the Christian Democratic Party CDA specifically inquired about this issue.
“We have been receiving the signals and we will surely do something with that,” Jansmeijer said, adding that one of the possibilities was to strengthen organisations that are working with gender-based issues.
The Red Cross also provided information about the financial aspects of its relief operation in St. Maarten. About one-third of the 18 million euros that has been collected in the Netherlands has been spent. The aid so far has focused on the most vulnerable persons in society, including the elderly, mentally and physically challenged, and children.
No differentiation is made as to the immigration status of the persons who are assisted. The Red Cross relief workers do not check whether the persons they assist have residence and/or work permits. “We don’t ask people about their legal status,” said Jansmeijer.
Through the supermarket and hardware store vouchers the Red Cross has been providing, the people have been able to decide for themselves what goods they want to buy to sustain their families and/or to repair their homes. Another benefit of the voucher system is that it supports local entrepreneurs and thus the local economy.
MP Van den Berg wanted to know about the local labour situation and the conditions of the people who are repairing homes with Red Cross funds. Lahr explained that there was some control on the labour conditions with the Red Cross at the construction site, but there were no clauses that forced construction companies or hardware stores to hire only local personnel.
MP Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) asked about the expectations of the Red Cross relief aid in St. Maarten and the possibility that another hurricane might hit the island which would require further reconstruction.
Lahr said buildings were rebuilt and repaired with possible future hurricanes in mind. “Nothing is totally hurricane-proof, but there are construction systems that can withstand extreme hurricane-force winds. This includes the way a dwelling is fixed to the ground or construction methods that prevent roofs from being blown off. Hurricane-proof construction is used for the shelters,” he said.
The Red Cross advised the Second Chamber Committee to keep an eye on the matter of coordination. Lahr said the cooperation between the Red Cross and the St. Maarten Government has been good and the cooperation with Dutch Defence in the period of emergency aid had been very positive as well.
However, there was room for improvement where it concerned the coordination between the local Government departments. Solid coordination between the different Government entities is important for, among other things, the drafting and execution of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Plan (NRRP), it was concluded during the one-hour meeting that was chaired by MP Remco Dijkstra of the liberal democratic VVD party.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/76084-danish-red-cross-to-assist-in-st-maarten
View comments
Hide comments