G. Michael Reid’s brush with Hurricane Mitch
It’s the topic of the week: Belize’s miraculous escape. Tonight G. Michael Reid has his own spin on how Belizeans handled the one hundred and eighty mile an hour crisis, the frantic movements and decisions we all made and how the country will finally stand still and reflect this Sunday.
“It is often suggested that Belizeans will hasten towards a fire, but will run away from water. And last week’s massive voluntary evacuation of Belize City would seem to lend credence to that adage. Bearing in mind of course, that water does cause ninety percent of all casualties in a hurricane, then one could well imagine how not only Belizeans but any other nationality would have thought twice about facing the prospect of thirty foot waves cascading down the Alberts. A cursory estimate of the number of folks who left town as a result of the Mitch scare puts the figure at a modest 25,000 but few would be surprised if the number was not actually much higher than that.
In fact, I believe that I might have seen almost that many cars lined up for gas in the capital when me and the crew from century two ducked in there for a quick rendezvous. What we found in Belmopan, was a city whose inhabitants had opened their arms, hearts and homes to not only family and friends, but in many instances to total strangers and on behalf of all those who took advantage of the hospitality, many thanks Belmopan.
Of course it was not only the citizens of Belmopan who came through big during this crisis, but folks all across the nation were reaching out to help each other and for the first time in ages, there was a real sense of togetherness in our nation. Nuff mention cannot be made of course, of the exemplary job done by young Johnny Briceño and his National Emergency Management Organization. And with special mention necessary of the invaluable contributions of Senior Minister George Price, whose competent performance should serve to dispel once and for all, all rumors that he is in fact, not still in control of all his faculties. And least we forget, Belmopan, which was planned with just such an emergency in mind, was in fact the brainchild of the very same George Price whose astute foresight was once again made apparent.
Belizeans first became aware of Hurricane Mitch on Thursday October twenty-second and for more than a week thereafter, our lives became topsy turvy. After receiving a tip from a reliable source, FM 2000 sounded the first alarm as early as Friday the twenty-third. The Prime Minister had of course, already planned his trip to Taiwan but was allegedly contemplating a postponement. The decision not to postpone is considered by many to have been the wrong one and that impression will probably be around to haunt our P.M. for quite some time to come. The fact that NEMO did such a good job and that he did bring back a fistful of dollars in some ways would seem to extenuated the circumstances, but had Mitch come west instead of veering south, I believe that our Prime Minister would have had some explaining to do.
Of note is the fact that while Hurricane Mitch did bring out the good in many of us, it also brought out the evil in some. Despite a very commendable job on the part of our security forces there were quite a few break-ins and looting and many unscrupulous merchants took advantage of the bad situation by hiking up prices on essential goods. As for the looters, were they stealing food, one could almost understand, but they were cutting open the sacks of rice, flour and sugar and pouring the contents on the ground to make room for liquor, cigarettes and other goods that would be sold. Had Mitch hit Belize, all that food would have been sorely needed.
All in all however, Belizeans did an excellent job of coping with a situation that could very well have turned to pandemonium. Evacuation proceedings were relatively orderly and it was indeed refreshing to see Belizeans looking out for each other. Only now can we fully realize how blessed we really are and how narrowly we escaped as reports of the true devastation wrought on our neighboring Central American countries reach us via the international news. The death toll has climbed past 9,000 and the homeless are in the millions.
This Sunday has been declared a Day of Thanksgiving and it is requested that all Belizeans, even those who don’t attend church, stop if even just for a minute and give thanks for this tremendous blessing. On Sunday there will also be a march to the Memorial Park from the different parishes of the Roman Catholic Church and even those who are not of that denomination are invited to join in. Sunday of course is also poppy day or Remembrance Day, when we remember those Belizeans who have fallen in foreign wars. All proceeds from the sale of poppies will go toward benefiting the victims of Hurricane Mitch. To borrow a line from the Belize Cancer Society, “They need us today, we might need them tomorrow”.
And speaking of the Cancer Society, many Belizeans were saddened to receive word of the passing of Mrs. Juliet Soberanis nee Orosco which occurred last Friday October the thirtieth. Juliet had become a friend and inspiration to many of us, and as we give thanks this Sunday, let us remember her and ask God to receive her into his keeping. May Juliet rest in peace.
With the Last Word, G. Michael Reid.”
The opinions expressed on the Last Word are those of G. Michael Reid and not necessarily those of Channel Five. Viewer comments are welcome.
