We can recall Dr Insanally voicing similar fears some weeks after the terrorist tragedies of September 11, 2001. The forum then was a panel discussion aired on the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). He had predicted then that the war on terror launched by the coalition of countries, headed by the United States and Britain, would have a profound impact on the existence of peoples in the Third World because, once more, the development agenda would be sacrificed in order to divert funds to this initiative.

Minister Insanally had noted then, also, that whenever there is a concerted initiative to bring stability and order to countries undergoing social or civil turmoil or conflict, almost the first casualty would be the development aid, which poor countries desperately need to keep their societies in some semblance of decent and civilised existence. He had cited the mid-1990s crises in Bosnia and Rwanda where mass killings had resulted in the displacement of millions of people, who were then forced to depend on the humanitarian assistance of western governments and agencies such as the Red Cross and the various arms of the United Nations.

The grim irony of the current international situation is that Caribbean territories have not yet recovered from the negative and economically crippling effects of September 11, 2001. Formerly strong airlines such as Jamaica Air and BWIA find themselves making deep job cuts, paring salaries of senior staff and exploring merger options in their bid for survival. For most of 2002, hotels in popular tourist destinations such as Barbados found themselves in the unimaginable state of having scores of unoccupied rooms and idle armies of waiters, maids, chefs and bartenders. This situation developed after the usual torrent of visitors from Europe and North America had trickled to a thin stream. People became fearful of flying. In an effort to lure persons to the Land of the Flying Fish, some hoteliers made the dramatic decision of cutting rates of accommodation by 35 per cent.