DORIAN and The Bahamas

Well, Hurricane Dorian is in the process of destroying The Bahamas and has raised the spectre of Maria for many of us here. 

For the past 2 days, while Dorian has been pounding the Bahamas, I have been quite undone and having flashbacks. I was quite happy that I couldn't remember much about the Maria event.  I still don't, but I guess I really never acknowledged the effect of Maria on me.  At the time, one had to just keep going and to not succumb to the catastrophe.   I did well, I got along, remained healthy and happy and unaffected by the hurricane.  Dorian has awakened something.  Definitely not fear, but a sense of great sadness, an ache, some kind of weird yearning.  That the little innocent Bahamas can be wiped out just like that is heartbreaking.

They will recover, just as Dominica has recovered.  Maybe not as quickly and they certainly will never, ever be the same, but with the Caribbean community behind them, and their Sister Islands on the way at this very moment they will be back for sure.

OCTOBER  6

Over the weekend I heard the tourism minister of the Bahamas in the CBC begging Canadians to return.  The Bahamas have hundreds of little Islands, most of them untouched.  Only Grand Bahama and Abaco are non-functional.  Tourism is the lifeblood of the Bahamas.