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By Mervin Lewis
Cuban homes inundated by floods in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Photo by unmultimedia.org
Hey everyone, have you ever been through a hurricane? Well fortunately, I haven’t. No one would like to go through any storm, especially a powerful one like Superstorm Sandy. I just can’t imagine going through weeks without electricity!
Most people know this storm was one of the worst to strike the Northeast. The New York Daily News on January 29, 2013 stated, “Sandy is to be blamed for more than 130 deaths in the U.S and tens of billions of dollars in property damages, particularly in New York and New Jersey.”
By the way, islands close to our island of St. Thomas suffered damage, too. Yes, in Haiti drenching rains destroyed 70 % of crops in several areas, and unfortunately a total of 54 people died from the storm. According to Fox News, the eye of Superstorm Sandy literally traveled over eastern Jamaica. What happened? Sandy destroyed 71 houses and damaged 348 others.
After all those people died and properties were damaged, funding was really needed to help out on the East Coast. How long did it took for the funds to be delivered? Ten weeks, wow! Why did it take so long?
“Despite opposition from conservatives concerned about adding billions of dollars more to the nation’s debt, the Senate cleared the long- delayed bill, 62-36, after House Republicans had stripped it earlier this month of spending unrelated to disasters,” said Andrew Miga of The Associated Press.
“Stripped it earlier”? What? New Jersey and New York really needed the funds for a very long time, and the Republicans were holding back because of the so-called nation’s debt!
Folks, that’s the reason why the $50.5 billion Superstorm Sandy aid bill took so long. However, this matter should’ve been handled earlier. I don’t think it’s fair to wait 10 weeks for my own country to help me, especially when the money is there.
Derron Casimir, a senior at Ivanna Eudora Kean, said, “ I think it’s a sad thing for the kids to go through, for the country and our islands.” I’ll have to say Derron views the matter just like I do.
Well, the national debt is really a problem, but it shouldn’t keep people from getting the help they’ve been waiting for desperately.
The money will finally be used in several areas. Andrew Miga also said, “Lawmakers said the money is urgently needed to start rebuilding, homes, businesses, public transportation facilities and other infrastructure.” Congress took quite a long while to go out there, but we can all be happy that this decision has been made.
photo courtesy of 02varvara.wordpress.com
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