Saint Lucia: PM Pierre vows support to fishermen in Soufriere impacted by Hurricane Beryl

Saint Lucia: Prime Minister Philip J Pierre is extending his complete support to vessel owners in Soufriere who have lost their boats and livelihoods because of the devastating storm surge.

He is resolute in his determination to help these resilient individuals rebuild their lives and return to supporting their families.

He also extended his sympathy to all affected by this tragedy and assured that is government is actively exploring ways to provide financial assistance to ensure that boat owners can quickly regain their footing and thrive again.

Not only this, but the Prime Minister also gave a personal visit to the Soufriere constituency to meet the ones affected by the impacts of Hurricane Beryl. He met with the people and was impressed to see their resilience to build back better and stronger.

He vowed to assist each of them who have been affected and said, “if you saw the people there, the young people, the young boatmen, the fishermen who had lost their livelihoods because they both either sunk or the engines were destroyed, you would have believed that they really need the assistance.”

While assuring the affected people, PM Pierre noted, “The government will try its best to assist them with money, so that they can rebuild their lives, so they can rebuild their boats.”

In addition to this, the Prime Minister has also issued a strong call for the world’s largest climate change contributors to compensate Small Island Developing States for the severe climate hazards they face.

He noted that in spite of contributing only 1 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, SIDS are disproportionately impacted by the consequences of climate change and receive minimal climate financing.

This call is coming as recently several Caribbean islands experienced the destruction of their agricultural sector housing and critical national infrastructure, with almost total devastation on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique due to Hurricane Beryl.

While the damage to Saint Lucia was not extensive as Grenada and St Vincent’s, but a few communities were impacted including Soufrière’s waterfront which was devastated by storm surges.

This has pushed the Prime Minister in calling out the developed world to take responsibility for their actions.