–as ‘Operation Airlift’ continues

THIRTEEN persons of Guyanese origin, some of whom have spent most of their lives in the Caribbean island of St Maarten, came home to a rousing welcome on Wednesday evening.
The task of extricating them from the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, was taken on by the BK Group of Companies through its subsidiary, Jags Aviation.
The aircraft left early Tuesday morning with a load of food and beverages. Jags’ Sky Truck landed at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle around 16:30hrs.

On hand to accord them a warm welcome were: Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix; Director-General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Colonel (Ret’d) Chabilall Ramsarup; BK Group’s Brian Tiwarie; and family members.
Minister Harmon told members of the media that while it was the second group to be airlifted from St Maarten, it was a first for Jags Aviation.
He said that though he was unsure as to how many persons are yet to come, what he does know is that the number has been significantly reduced by now.
Minister Felix said the total number of Guyanese to have returned so far from St Maarten, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Dominica is 44.

He said the government is in the process of getting those children who came into schools. So far, they have reportedly placed two persons at the University of Guyana, while others will be dispersed to primary and secondary schools close to where they are staying.
According to reports, one of the volunteer carriers will be bringing in passengers today, but the time is still unknown.
One of the persons who arrived on the flight, Ms Yonett Richmond of Weldaad, West Coast Berbice, couldn’t help saying how grateful she was to ‘Jags’ for bringing her home safely, as due to the hurricanes, she was left stranded in St Maarten where she was vacationing.
Richmond said she left Guyana with her nephew on June 28, with the intention of having a good time with her relatives there. But when the time came to return in September, the hurricanes hit.

“The experience was bad!” she said. “I was so scared! Irma was bad because there was a lot of wind and waves. Windows were shaking, Maria did not hit where I was staying so bad, but I am glad I got a way out of the island and back home.”
Company representative, Mr Bobby Vieira, told the Guyana Chronicle that they volunteerd their services because they felt it was important to play their roles in ensuring that Guyanese who wanted to return home got an opportunity to do so.
In addition to airlifting food and the evacuees, the company will be hosting a hurricane relief concert at D’Urban Park on November 11, 2017.
Vieira said they are hoping to realise as much as $50M, which will go towards assisting persons from the hurricane-ravaged islands in various ways.