Bermuda Regiment May be Deployed to Haiti
The Bermuda Regiment may be deployed to assist with the rebuilding efforts in earthquake ravaged Haiti.
The island nation is in desperate need of assistance following the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010. Previous to the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with an average annual income of only $450 a person[1].
The general consensus is that the nations dire economic state is a grave hindrance to the extensive rebuilding process needed.
Premier Dr. Ewart Brown made the following comments from the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Dominica:
…the health focus of CARICOM’s support to Haiti has been well received and we are now discussing more long-term assistance. The opportunity to provide Haiti with a building code to minimize the impact of any further natural disasters will not be squandered and together we will provide technical assistance as requested.
Having discussed the matter with Minister of Public Safety Col. Burch, we agreed that an eventual role for the Bermuda Regiment might be the rebuilding of certain structures at an appropriate time. The Haitian Foreign Minister told us that 3,700 schools need to be rebuilt. Based on the Regiment’s success in Jamaica, Cayman and Grenada, we can see a possible role for our uniformed women and men once the effort has reached this phase.
There is a military presence in Haiti already, including a 10,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force. The United States had sent a strong military response, with a peak of around 20,000 troops on Feb. 1, with the number expected to drop to about 8,000 as troop withdrawal continues.
The local community have already responded generously with Cablevision donating $45,000, Bank of Bermuda employees donated $23,000 with the Bank and its Foundation topping it up to $50,000, and a very impressive effort from the students of Warwick Academy raised $53,449.
Bermuda based doctors performed over 150 life saving operations, and the Bermuda Government chartered a Boeing 737 jet to deliver 12,000lbs of vital food and medical equipment to the people of Haiti. In addition numerous other companies as well as individual Bermudians made donations to Haiti privately.
In addition, the “To Haiti With Love Telethon” held on Monday March 8, raised $82,372.00 in only three hours.
