WILLEMSTAD/ORANJESTAD–With Hurricanes Irma and Maria causing devastation in the Windward Islands as a case in point, the three Dutch Caribbean Prime Ministers agreed during a meeting in Curaçao on Monday to improve the formal structure of cooperation in disaster and crisis management.
Prime Ministers Eugene Rhuggenaath of Curaçao, Evelyn Wever-Croes of Aruba and Leona Romeo-Marlin of St. Maarten were present for the inter-island meeting in Curaçao, as well as Curaçao Governor Lucille George-Wout and St. Maarten Governor Eugene Holiday.
Representatives of the Dutch government, the disaster and crisis management coordinators of the six Dutch Caribbean islands, the Red Cross, Dutch Defence and several Fire Department Chiefs and Chiefs of Police attended the two-day meeting called “All Hands on Desk CAS-BES Disaster Coordination,” which ended on Tuesday.
During the meeting on Monday, the events in St. Maarten before, during and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and the cooperation that was provided by Aruba, Curaçao and the Netherlands were discussed. On Tuesday, the practical aspects of the lessons learned from last year’s storms were discussed.
The prime ministers all expressed their willingness to arrive at a formal agreement to provide assistance to each other in disaster situations such as the one caused by Hurricane Irma. It was concluded that certain structures for cooperation between the islands in case of calamity had been dismantled with the 2010 constitutional restructuring and needed updating.
Since Curaçao and St. Maarten attained country status and Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba became Dutch public entities in October 2010, it has become unclear what exactly the islands can expect of each other when a disaster or crisis hits. The formalities regarding this issue need to be put in place so it is exactly clear who does what. The Netherlands will be involved in this trajectory.
Prime Minister Wever-Croes reassured that Aruba was always willing to assist where it could, not only in the case of a hurricane, but also in other (natural) disasters. “We are sister islands and from the historic ties that bind us comes the responsibility to help each other. We all have our issues that require attention, but it is always good to be prepared. It is always good to know that you can count on your neighbour in times of need,” she stated.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79795-islands-want-to-formalise-cooperation-during-crises
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