Aspecial UN fund should be setup to deal with catastrophic natural disasters

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DEAREDITOR,

As I watched the devastation in Turkey and Syria caused by the recent deadly earthquake, I could not help but reflect on our own vulnerabilities in the face of potential natural disasters caused in large measure by the effects of climate change. And even though we have to consider ourselves fortunate not to have experienced any disaster of the magnitude seen in other parts of the world,wehavetocontinueto do our part in terms of disaster preparedness and mitigationefforts.

Such catastrophic disasters as in the case of TurkeyandSyriarequirethe collective response of the global community Credit must be given to those countries and international agencies that have already been rendering valuable assistance In times of disaster, there should be no room for narrow thinking. Assistance should be sought and accepted from all quarters, regardless of political or ideological differences. Given the scale ofdeathsanddestructionthat could result from natural disasters, I am of the view that a special disaster fund should be set up by the United Nations A small reduction in global military spending of 1% by the industrialized world could releasebillionsofdollarsfor disaster mitigation efforts. This admittedly, is wishful thinking given the entrenched military positions of the major powers.

Inthisregard,creditmust begiventothoseindividuals and groups that have been risking their own lives to come to the rescue of those trapped under the rubble. Alreadyover20,000persons have perished but many others were saved, thanks to rescue efforts of so many people. The full scale of the destruction is still to be determined, but from all indications it is one of the worst in recent times. The disaster in Turkey and Syria is all the more worrying when seen against the manmadedisasterintheUkraineRussia war in which tens of thousands of lives were lost andbillionsofdollarswasted i n i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l destruction. The billions of dollars spent on the war could have made a huge difference in relief efforts and poverty alleviation. All of that is now, as it were, water under the bridge. In fact, global military spending is increasing significantly as a result of heightened tension caused bythewarinUkraine.

Yourstruly, HydarAlly

DEAREDITOR, There needs to be more consultationswiththePPP/C

Government and the APNU OppositioninGuyana.There needs to be more consultationswiththePPP/C Government and the unions inGuyana.

There needs to be more consultationswiththePPP/C Government and civil societyinGuyana.

There needs be more consultations to move Guyana forwards not just economically, but also socially and politically as well.

IrfaanAli has the chance to be an exceptional PresidentIFONLYhewould believe and TRUST Guyanese and not just go-italonetoscorecheappolitical points.

As I wrote to Donald Ramoutar and David Granger,youarenotgoingto be there forever, so why not help to move Guyana forward socially and politically and not just economically?

This could result in the healing process being initiated which ALL Guyanesecrave.

Don’t just go-it-alone whereby you are taking half of Guyanese with you and leaving half behind (Tek Half,LefHalf).