#BTEditorial – protecting women and girls in periods of disaster

In times of difficulty, it is not uncommon for us to turn to those for whom we have a reasonable expectation of a positive response to our request for help. The family represents the first port in a storm. Our relatives are not expected to take advantage of our moments of vulnerability. Family members are likely to respond with kindness and without expecting a reward for their actions.

When a person is frustrated and out of them, they are often at their most vulnerable. At this point, they are more likely to agree to the requests, otherwise, they’ll totally reject them. The pride they tend to show can easily be replaced by the fulfillment of immediate survival needs.

Those of us who call the Caribbean nation know very well that we are among the most vulnerable to natural disasters. Every year, we are faced with the stark reality that our economies can be wiped out after years of sacrifices and efforts to strengthen the economic building blocks.

Haiti, our poorest cousins ​​in the northern Caribbean and the Caribbean, is one example in the region of how agencies and foreigners exploit its people, who travel to the besieged country to help the ostensibly needy.

A frequent pole of despair and tragedy, in 2010 the French-speaking country, which shares the island of Hispaniola with its Spanish-speaking neighbor, the Dominican Republic, was hit by a devastating earthquake.

The exact death toll there proved elusive in the ensuing chaos. However, the Haitian government has put the official death toll at more than 300,000. Some estimates indicated that it was much smaller.

But what was certain was the massive displacement faced by hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors. The 7.0 magnitude event caused nearly $ 8 billion in damage.

Nearly 10 months after the devastating earthquake, Haitians are multiplied by the suffering of the deadly cholera outbreak. The United Nations, which has deployed thousands of its peacekeepers from around the world, on the ground in Haiti, has set up a commission to find out the cause of the cholera outbreak after Haitian citizens accused the agency’s peacekeeping force of causing the outbreak by running sanitation from a camp in Haiti. the river.

In its findings in May 2011, the United Nations recognized that the bacteria entered Haiti “as a result of human activity,” specifically through contamination of the Artibonite River with a pathogen from South Asia.

The problem with disasters is the vulnerability that victims of such events face. Not only did the Haitian poor have to fight the aftermath of the earthquake, but the cholera epidemic came to them via strangers.

Additionally, reports alleged that peacekeepers have used their access to money, food, and shelter as a cover for the sexual exploitation of Haitian women and children.

A New York Times report in 2019 revealed that UN peacekeepers had given birth to hundreds of children and were left behind, and the United Nations has since acknowledged numerous cases in which Haitian peacekeepers have sexually exploited and mistreated them during a time of desperate need.

The report revealed that girls as young as 11 years old were raped and pregnant by peacekeepers stationed in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. The girls said they were paid pennies for sex.

The issue of the exploitation of women and girls in the event of disasters came to the fore again recently with the unfortunate comments of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Mr. Gaston Brown that Saint Vincent’s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves should “send all the beautiful young ladies” as he needs. To expand our population.

Hundreds of Vincentians displaced by the volcano seek refuge in neighboring countries. And while Mr. Brown was generous in offering a “safe” shelter in Antigua, he blocked the show with sexist remarks that certainly do not comfort a young woman who might have considered accepting the offer.

Brown, rightly condemned at home and abroad, responded with his usual defiant Trumpian style, with personal attacks on the messengers rather than considering the messages’ value.

To suggest that it was a gentle banter means rejecting the well-documented trauma and abuse that women especially face in disaster situations. Women and girls are often forced to negotiate the unresolved dilemma of preserving their bodies or feeding themselves or their children.

Dr. Christina Hinds, a young and outspoken lecturer in political science and international relations at the University of the West Indies (UWI) campus, criticized how she criticized Brown’s statement as “extremely inappropriate, insensitive, and gender-biased.” She also expressed disappointment that such a comment came from a political leader.

Ironically, it was Brown who reached out to his neighbors when Hurricane Irma Barbuda struck in 2017 and turned nearly 90 percent of the population into refugees. He certainly would not have accepted comments like this attached with the help of Barbudan residents.

The young academic was right to put Brown in his shoes, insisting that women in crisis situations are the most vulnerable and “make this kind of banter inappropriate.”

The women’s arm of the United Progressive Party of Antigua made it clear that the comments were neither funny nor half-hearted, and it was shameful for the prime minister to lend a hand to the idea that women should be preyed on or seen as sexual objects.

Read our ePaper. Fast. realistic. free.

Subscribe and stay informed with the latest free news on Barbados.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos