Statement from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley on Hurricane Dorian and The Bahamas.

The Government of Barbados has pledged to urgently assist the Government of The Bahamas with relief in light of the devastation caused to that nation by Hurricane Dorian.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley explained this evening that she had been in contact with the Government of the Bahamas consistently over the last 48 hours and was deeply saddened by the tremendous devastation and suffering on the Bahamian people that has been unleashed by Dorian.

She pledged that as soon as the all-clear is given, and once we have clarity as to the needs of the Bahamian people as articulated by their Government, the Government of Barbados is ready to despatch personnel and equipment from the Barbados Defence Force and the Barbados Coast Guard.

It is expected that the recovery and rebuilding exercise would be no small task given the length of time Dorian sat over the islands of The Bahamas and pounded them with winds upward of 200 kilometers per hour.

“We were fortunate enough to have been spared the wrath of Dorian, but we are no less touched by what has occurred in The Bahamas than if it had taken place right here in Barbados,” Mottley said.

“It is now clear that increasingly, all nations in this region are becoming more susceptible to the ravages of hurricanes and other adverse weather conditions, and while we are not the ones creating the conditions for global warming that fuels them, we certainly have no choice but to stand together to help each other when they come our way.

“The people of the Bahamas can rest assured that they are in our prayers and that our resources, limited though they may be, will be deployed to help them through this most difficult time.”

The Prime Minister thanked the Barbados Light & Power Company, who was already mobilizing to send crews and equipment to The Bahamas to assist with the restoration of power, and other members of the local private sector who had reached out to pledge their support. She urged other members of the private sector and civil society to join the effort.

“In these small and vulnerable islands we occupy, we should never forget that old West Indian saying: ‘Today for you, tomorrow for me’, or better still, ‘There but for the grace of God go I,” Mottley said.