The iPINIONS Journal

Houston, you have a problem: 

Hurricane Ike is threatening to obliterate waterfront towns and give the skyscrapers, refineries and docks of Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, their worst pounding in a generation.

[The Associated Press]

But, where my compatriots on the Turks and Caicos Island of Grand Turk were completely at Ike’s mercy, Houstonians have been given every opportunity to run for their lives inland to safety. 

Therefore, let us pray that all whose homes are in Ike’s path heeded the government’s call to evacuate; and that those who decided to hunker down survive its 110-mph winds and 20-foot storm surges, which are expected to flood the entire coastal city of Galveston.

Americans are blessed with the technology, escape routes to inland shelters and other emergency management resources to gauge and withstand hurricanes with virtually no loss of life. Nevertheless, how well local authorities enforce evacuation orders and how many daring fools ignore them (and go sight seeing in the eye of the storm) shall determine [Ike's] human casualties.

[Run for your lives, Katrina's coming, Katrina's coming, The iPINIONS Journal, August 29, 2005] 

My prayers are with you Houston….

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Many of you have expressed concerns about your donations to the British Red Cross to help relief efforts in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) getting lost in bureaucratic red tape, or worse.

Unfortunately, the TCI has no indigenous relief agency with the facility to take online donations.

Therefore, I have arranged with the Director of the TCI Business Development Center, Mrs. Lillian Misick, to get your donations directly to the victims.  And here’s how:

Mrs. Misick lives on Grand Turk, the nation’s capital, where, according to the Premier, over 80% of the homes have been completely destroyed and not a single power pole is still standing. This means that people will be without electricity and phone services for weeks, if not months; and that most of island’s 6000 residents will be living in shelters indefinitely.

More to the point, she is easily the most trustworthy and popular person on the island.  And it is a testament to her charitable disposition that she has already turned her generator-powered bakery into a veritable soup kitchen and distribution center for emergency supplies.

It is also an indication of my regard for her business expertise and professionalism that hers is the only TCI government agency that I’ve featured here on my weblog since 2005.  (I invite you to click on “Doing Business in the Turks and Caicos Islands” in the sidebar under Blogroll for more details.)

It’s because of my longstanding professional relationship with her that she accepted my pledge of a substantial amount of money, which will enable her to use her credit card to immediately purchase food and other supplies to disburse amongst the displaced victims of this devastating hurricane.  And, once power is restored, I will wire the amount of my pledge into her local bank account.

Accordingly, I am prepared to accept your donations on behalf of TCI hurricane victims.  Only in this case, I have established a client trust account in their name to manage the donations and wire funds according to Mrs Misick’s disbursement requests.

You can make your donations by clicking on the PayPal Donate icon in the sidebar on this page and following the instructions to make credit card payments.

To demonstrate my good faith and provide some measure of public accountability, on Saturday, September 13, I will publish the names and amounts donated of all who contribute to this very worthy cause. 

(Donors who do not want their names published should indicate so in the PayPal comments box. And everyone should indicate that donations are “For TCI hurricane relief effort”.)

On behalf of my fellow TCIslanders, I thank you for your support.

UPDATE

Due to the overwhelming demands being placed on her soup kitchen and distribution center, Mrs Misick has coordinated with local businessmen and pastors to create zones to distribute food and other supplies on the island in a more orderly, fair and non-partisan manner. 

Through this coordination, we are committed to feeding all in need for a finite period of time. Specifically, we plan to progressively wean people off the soup kitchen and direct them towards local food stores - as soon as they open for business and power is restored to the island.

Meanwhile, islanders have begun the painful process of salvaging what little remains of their worldly possessions amongst hurricane debris.

Where we are helping to provide food and water, a major international relief agency has pledged to deliver “Shelterboxes” that will provide temporary homes for at least 3000.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

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Thanks for supporting the victims of Hurricane Ike 

TV stations cover natural disasters purportedly as a public service. But there’s no denying that such coverage is a ratings boon for their bottom line - catering as it does to the perverse thrill of suspense that keeps us fixated on the hype of impending doom….

[...Katrina's coming, Katrina's coming, The iPINIONS Journal, August 29, 2005]

Now politicians are acting as if every hurricane heading for the United States is the next Katrina, and they are making every phony gesture possible to appear more concerned about potential hurricane victims than President George W. Bush did in the wake of Katrina.

Why else would John McCain and the Republicans cancel the opening of their political convention in St. Paul, Minnesota - as if that would help New Orleans prepare for Hurricane Gustav or provide emergency relief in its wake?  Indeed, nothing demonstrates the phoniness of this gesture quite like the fact that delegates still went out and partied all over the city last night like it was New Year’s Eve. And, frankly, I don’t blame them.

Meanwhile, imagine how foolish the Republicans must feel today - given that the only disaster to hit New Orleans was the pack of big-city reporters, like Geraldo Rivera, scavenging for wind or rain damage to report as news.

But I shall spare you my indignant commentary on the absurdity of reporters “braving” the elements to report on what is plain to see; i.e., that Gustav’s landfall brought Category 2 winds of 115 mph, torrential rain and floods. 

Frankly, only when flying debris decapitates one of these misguided storm chasers will everybody exclaim ‘what the hell were they standing outside in the midst of a hurricane for anyway!’

Let’s hope Katrina’s winds are strong enough to finally blow away one of those wannabe Dan Rathers who seem to think that it’s necessary (and heroic) to go out in the hurricane to report the obvious whilst holding on to a pole for dear life….

[...Katrina's coming, Katrina's coming, The iPINIONS Journal, August 29, 2005]

Ditto Gustav and every other hurricane that comes along….

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