… says Foreign Affairs Minister

WITH some Guyanese who have been living in St. Vincent and the Grenadines showing some interest in returning to Guyana, following the ongoing volcanic eruptions on the island, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Hugh Todd, has said that possible repatriation arrangements are being assessed.
Earlier this week, the Guyana Chronicle was told that some Guyanese on the island have expressed an interest in returning home because of the eruption of the volcano, La Soufrière, which began last Friday. Since eruptions are ongoing, the airport has been closed and no flights have been allowed to depart from or arrive in St. Vincent.
“We’re still assessing those persons who might want to return and that is the case, we will make arrangements for that but right now, the airspace is closed and the focus right now, based on the request from the government of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines is for support for food items, water supplies and sanitisation items and so forth,” Minister Todd told this newspaper, in an invited comment, on Friday.

There are about 4,500 Guyanese living on the island of St. Vincent, which has been facing volcanic eruptions since Friday, and Guyana’s Honorary Consul on the island, Nigel Russell, highlighted that there has been an outpouring of support among the Guyanese population to get through the crisis.
The Honorary Consul noted that his priority was ensuring that the Guyanese on the island were safely evacuated and relocated from the danger zones. Having done that, he said that the consulate is now focused on taking care of the needs of the people.
“On the ground here, there will always be needs. The biggest need is water, and what I have asked Guyana, initially, is to get us some water, and to get us some goggles to deal with the (volcanic) ash, and face masks,” Russell related. And, though individuals have opened up their homes to accommodate others, he acknowledged that eventually, personal supplies will run low, and people will require some assistance. It is for this reason that the consulate has been making a list to send to the local authorities, so that relief can be provided.

Meanwhile, Head of the Diaspora Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Rosalinda Rasul, told the Guyana Chronicle that the Honorary Consul in St. Vincent has assured the local authorities that all Guyanese living on the island have been evacuated from the danger zones.
“No one in the shelters are coming forward as Guyanese, and this indicates that they are in private homes,” Rasul said.
Even so, she noted that more Guyanese are reaching out to the Honorary Consul to indicate that they are on the island, and providing whatever needs they might have at this time.
On Thursday, according to a press release from the Office of the President, President Ali assured the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, that Guyana is fully committed to assisting the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines, not only in the immediate period, but also in the medium and long-term.
On this note, Minister Todd emphasised that Guyana has been providing supplies to the country, since that is what the country is able to do at this time. So far, a vessel filled with 350 tonnes of supplies and another twenty-foot container filled with water supplies have been sent to the country. Repatriation flights, however, may be a bit more challenging.
“(Repatriation) is not a priority right now because it is not a matter that we can address immediately,” the Minister said.”