Bishop Gabriel Malzaire of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Roseau, Dominica gave a firsthand account of the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Irma after he visited nine of the island’s 15 parishes, three of which were still inaccessible by road, on September 25.

“It is now just over two weeks since the passage of Hurricane Maria, two weeks of coping with the shock of the event. I am certain that many still wake up in the morning, wondering whether they had a bad dream, no she was a reality. We continue to feel deep sympathies for the families who lost loved ones as a result of the storm, especially those whose bodies have not yet been recovered.

“In a situation such as as ours it is very easy for one to question the theological implications of such an event to ask why a good God would permit this. Somehow we never seem to pose the question when it happens in Florida or in Haiti or the typhoon in India. Only when the situation comes home are we forced to consider them, hoping to find a levitate answer.

“It is evident that many people are traumatised as they walk the streets dazed by the never ending scene of devastation and chaos. They hardly believe what has happened. Many have found the need to migrate to neighbouring islands and other countries for schooling. Some are simply moving away for fear of the prospects of a daunting future.

“For us who remain the need to get in rebuilding mode is urgent. We will need all the willpower we can muster as relief supplies come in and peoples psychological needs are satisfied. We can move to the next level of nation building. The lessons to be learned from Maria are more than meets the naked mind. What ever it is for each person, one thing remains true alone who has experienced Maria cannot be the same. It is another way of saying the worst that can happen to us as a people is not having learned anything from Maria. The need to work together looms high. The need to think of neighbour and not only self is a basic Christian principle. The old adage ‘United we stand , divided we fall’ certainly rings true in this situation more than ever before.

“To paraphrase the words of a well known contemporary hymn ‘ We as a people can never lose hope, we will never lose our joy, we will continue to cling to our faith but most of all, we will never lose our praise. Our God has brought us through the storm. He will lead us through the light’. With these words of encouragement we will move forward, knowing it will be all right in the morning, with the unfailing help of God and the continuous support of all our friends near and far. With the rate of global man-made and natural disasters, it is easy to move to the next crisis but we need to remember and we will need you for a while. So stay with us and with the blessing go the Almighty God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit descend upon all of us and be with us forever. Amen.”