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Stabroek News

Forced evacuation
published: Monday | July 18, 2005

THE PRIME Minister's announcement in Parliament last week about the forced removal of persons living in disaster-prone areas was set in a context of developing an education policy to achieve this objective.

Yet even before forced evacuation became law the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) was in effect ordering certain residents to move into shelters.

Prompted by the approach of Hurricane Emily, ODPEM in a news release last Friday said it was "advising" residents of Portmore, Nine Miles and Eleven Miles in St. Andrew that they "must evacuate" to specified shelters.

We understand the urgency of the moment in a hurricane season which has already spawned death and destruction in the Caribbean region. But the Prime Minister, himself an eminent attorney, has realised that the pending legislation has to be developed with an education policy explaining the whys and wherefores to the people.

It is instructive, as we reported in the Saturday edition, that some residents of Port Royal declared their determination to stay put; and there have been other indications of reluctance to leave homes without adequate protection. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan last year, there were reports from residents in some areas who claimed that their homes had been robbed while they were in shelters during the bad weather.

Inside the shelters themselves there have been complaints about general indiscipline and conditions of inadequate sanitary facilities. Indeed some volunteer managers have withdrawn their services creating problems of staffing for the authorities. Damage to some schools used as shelters apparently led to a proposal to abandon the practice; but this has been put on hold, precisely because there are not enough alternative facilities available.

These circumstances point to two areas of concern before forced evacuation should be implemented. Firstly, the shelters themselves must be adequately prepared and staffed. Secondly, the safety of homes which have been evacuated must be guaranteed.

In short, the forced evacuation policy must be a well-thought-out aspect of the Government's new approach to disaster management. Leaving their homes unprotected is the main reason for the reluctance of hurricane or flood victims to be moved to public shelters; and the police force cannot be expected to offer adequate protection along with their normal duties.

The Government must initiate discussions with private security companies, citizens' associations and the various lobby groups to establish some kind of memorandum of understanding to address the problem. This will take careful planning but the time to start is now.

THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.

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