EDITORIAL

Take a more proactive approach

This year has not seen the large amounts of rainfall thus far as in previous years. However, during this hurricane season, which many of us refer to as the ‘rainy season’, we are constantly reminded to be proactive and we are also encouraged to learn from past disasters that have affected us or more recently, other Caribbean countries, and surprisingly, the East Coast of the United States, particularly North Carolina, which was hit recently by Hurricane Florence.

What is difficult to comprehend is that there is still a prevailing sentiment in some sectors of society that this country is somewhat immune to disaster, and pleas from officials generally fall on deaf ears.

Daily, people are seen throwing used food and drink containers through vehicle windows or even walking the streets and throwing away what they do not want along the road, even though a garbage can might be in plain sight.

Officials from the Sanitation Service Authority and the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) continue to educate about the value of keeping all drains clear and the value of disposing of litter correctly.

While many Barbadians see the wisdom in keeping their surroundings clean because of the potential harm it can cause to others and the environment,
sadly there are others who do not acknowledge this crucial advice. Barbadians are continuously warned that they need to monitor their actions since collectively they contribute to the flooding that occurs across the island when there is heavy rainfall.

Some of those affected by the flooding and other effects of littering such as increased sightings of vermin and mosquitoes have complained that they have been ‘begging’ the relevant authorities to correct the situation. However, in order to benefit and to minimise these negative effects during periods of excess rain or during times of disaster, the onus is on everyone to take responsibility for their actions.

We can study the case of North Carolina earlier this month, when the flood water brought with it trash and consequently mosquito eggs. The fallout from Hurricane Florence was such that the state has been swarmed by aggressive mosquitoes nearly three times larger than regular mosquitoes. We need to learn our lessons from others or we will be forced to learn the hard way.

We have become a reactive society, whereas issues are not dealt with before they challenge us. Now that we have experienced flooding and undoubtedly there will be instances where water will become stagnant, we must step up efforts to clean these areas to prevent out of control breeding of the aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue fever.

Barbados Advocate

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Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
Fontabelle, St. Michael, Barbados

Phone: (246) 467-2000
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