Helping a neighbour in need
Editorial
THE horrific tragedy that has struck Venezuela is unfolding more each day and Guyana and Guyanese cannot be unmoved by the scale of what has happened there. Of more immediate interest to many Guyanese here was the safety and fate of their relatives and friends in the neighbour to the west and the news yesterday that almost all seemed to have escaped the tragedy would have been widely welcomed. Thousands of Guyanese have made their home over there over the years but most live outside the danger area and reports are that they are out of harm's way. But this does not mean that Guyanese should stand aloof from the disaster. Venezuela needs all the international help it can get to try to overcome the effects of the disaster and to help rebuild the lives of the thousands that have been battered. The Guyana Government has approved an initial G$15M in humanitarian assistance for the victims and an appeal is out for assistance from groups and individuals to help in whatever way they can. President Bharrat Jagdeo has sent a message of sympathy to President Hugo Chavez and has indicated that Guyana stands willing to help in whatever way it can. Venezuela was one of those countries that helped Guyana cope with the effects of the prolonged El Nino drought conditions last year and it is comforting that Guyanese have begun to respond to the pleas for help in Venezuela's hour of need. A list of the items most needed is published elsewhere in the newspaper and we readily endorse the appeal for help. It is a cause most deserving of support because neighbours must help neighbours, especially when they are visited with a disaster of such proportions. Other countries with the means will be able to offer much more than Guyana can but Guyanese can chip in with whatever little they have to offer. The response to the appeal for help was up to yesterday lukewarm and we are sure the nation can do much more to show it really cares about the awful suffering that has befallen so many in the neighbouring country. Business firms and private sector groups can coordinate filling containers with donations of the items people here can afford and ship these to the relevant agencies in Venezuela. The Venezuelan Embassy here and the Guyana is First group are co-ordinating a relief effort and this can be expanded on to make a really worthwhile contribution to the international response. Venezuela is a country in which thousands of Guyanese found succour in their time of need and it will be only fitting if their countrymen and countrywomen here can find a little way of returning the favour in the wake of the calamity that has struck there. Every little bit of help will count and we urge all those who can respond to do so wholeheartedly.
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