State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops says in today’s paper that the 550 million euros in reconstruction aid from the Netherlands will also go to matters that bring about a “true improvement” in the daily existence of hurricane victims. There are still residents living under tarpaulin or in makeshift quarters, so just a bit of rain can be quite inconvenient and traumatic for some.
Knops even mentioned basic necessities, including food and water, as people continue to lose income or their jobs altogether and simply can no longer fend for themselves. He also talked about social housing, which is very important. The lack of affordable quality accommodations was already an issue before Irma, but it’s now only gotten worse.
When the island was similarly devastated by Luis in 1995 people left without a roof over their heads were first housed in large military tents, then in adapted containers and finally in so-called emergency homes, many of which still stand today. It also led to the establishment of the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) and its Belvedere public housing project the very next year.
There are today fewer completely destroyed and/or condemned shacks than back then, so it was instead decided to use the Festival Village and Little League Stadium to temporarily house the homeless, in addition to a couple of individual tent homes set up for special cases such as elderly persons. However, these are obviously hardly ideal and certainly not structural solutions.
For the latter, real homes must be built and it’s good to see that the Dutch Government understands this. Schools, sports facilities and many other things are undoubtedly needed, but decent places for families to stay is where it all starts.
