$1 million in aid but no job offers for hurricane-hit Grenada

Cayman is pledging approximately CI$1 million in “financial and tangible aid” to regional neighbours impacted by Hurricane Beryl.

Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, MPs, Hazard Management officials and others will fly with “much-needed supplies” to Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, according to a press release issued by government on Friday.

Following an apparent misunderstanding of what Cayman was providing, authorities in hurricane-hit Grenada were forced to retract an earlier statement that had suggested Cayman had offered jobs to impacted people from the eastern Caribbean island.

Specially chartered flight

The “in-kind donation” includes tarpaulins, air mattresses, dry food, personal and feminine hygiene products and first aid kits. The delegation is due to fly out on a specially-chartered Cayman Airways flight on Tuesday.

In a statement issued earlier on Friday, the Office of the Prime Minister of Grenada said it “renounces and retracts” a press release which stated that O’Connor-Connolly was “extending an invitation to Grenadians who wish to work in the Cayman Islands, to return with her on Tuesday, July 16, 2024”.

The Grenada statement clarified that O’Connor-Connolly “made no such offer” of taking Grenadians with her during a “courtesy call” she made to the prime minister of Grenada.

“During the call, the Premier expressed solidarity with the people of Grenada on the devastation caused to Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique and offered relief assistance to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” the statement said.

Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell, in the statement, expressed his “profound and heartfelt appreciation” for the material support and solidarity shown by the premier and the people of the Cayman Islands “during this challenging time”.

O’Connor-Connolly’s office later indicated that she would be travelling to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines on a “relief mission” on Tuesday, 16 July, but did not address the retracted statement from Grenada.

Support from many quarters

Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were among the islands severely impacted by Hurricane Beryl last week.

At a service of thanksgiving held on 7 July after Beryl passed, the premier promised to help Caribbean nations devastated by the hurricane.

Several companies and charities have stepped up to offer aid to impacted islands, including RBC Royal Bank and Lions Clubs from around the region.

RBC donated C$175,000 to the Canadian Red Cross and the American Red Cross in support of Caribbean and US relief efforts.

“The intensity of Hurricane Beryl this early in the season is concerning and our thoughts are with the individuals affected in the Caribbean communities as well as in the US,” Chris Duggan, head of RBC Caribbean Banking, said in a statement Friday.

The devastating hurricane impacted several Caribbean and US communities where RBC operates, including Barbados, the Cayman Islands, and Tobago, the statement said, adding that its contribution will support emergency relief efforts, including shelters, hygiene kits, and social assistance to those in the affected areas.