US Secretary of State Colin Powell got a glimpse of the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Ivan on Grenada and promised Wedneday that millions of dollars in U.S. aid was on the way to the island, where some complain they have been forgotten by the United States.
Powell was able to see some of the damage as his jet circled the island before landing. At the airport -- where the metal roof was still torn in places -- Powell shook hands with Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and visited a nearby warehouse where relief supplies are being stored."President Bush wanted me to come and say to the government and people of Grenada that the United States is standing with you during this difficult time," Powell said at a news conference.
He said $100 million in aid to the Caribbean will be coming "very soon." On Tuesday, Bush asked Congress for an additional $50 million to help victims of four major hurricanes that slammed into Haiti, Grenada, Jamaica and other Caribbean nations -- on top of $50 million Bush already proposed for those countries.
"Grenada has been hit the hardest, so you can expect the assistance that we will be providing to you will be significant," Powell said, without providing an exact figure for Grenada's share.
He said $1 million in financial help and relief supplies has already been sent to the island, and $3.6 million is on its way now.
U.S. aid to the island has dropped sharply since U.S. troops invaded in 1983 following a coup by left-wing radicals. Some islanders have complained the United States has been slow in sending help after the hurricane last month.
Ivan's 130 mph winds struck the Caribbean country Sept. 7, killing at least 39 people and leaving 90 percent of homes damaged or destroyed, as well as many centuries-old British and French colonial buildings.
Grenada's Finance Ministry released a report Tuesday estimating losses due to destruction and lost tourist business at $900 million.
"Not only was their infrastructure hit, but their means of production and the economic base of the country -- the agricultural sector, the tourism sector, the medical college -- all of them were severely damaged," Powell said. "So there is an urgent need to reconstruct the economy as well as rebuild houses and schools."
Powell said the disaster clearly hurt islanders but said Grenadians "are a resilient people, and there is no doubt in my mind they will spring back."
Powell said Mitchell -- whose own house was flattened by Ivan -- gave him a reconstruction plan that he will take back to Washington to study. Mitchell thanked Powell for his visit, saying he "listened intently to the problems we have to confront."
Nearly a month after the hurricane, many Grenadians still are sleeping in their cars or on the floors of damaged houses with roofs blown off.
"My car has been my bedroom for the past four weeks," said 35-year-old Hopeton Antoine, whose home was destroyed by the Category 3 hurricane. "I think the United States government could play a greater role. They need to help in the provision of homes."
Anbel Hayling, a 41-year-old resident, said that while hundreds of American medical students who studied at St. George's University have left, Grenadians must face the disaster's aftermath.
"The Americans removed all their students," Hayling said. "They said they did not feel that the conditions here were good enough for them even though they were living in better conditions after the hurricane than most Grenadians were. America needs to grant refugee status to the hundreds of Grenadians who have nowhere to live."'
Powell, the son of Jamaican immigrants, made the stopover in Grenada after a two-day visit to Brazil. He said he first visited the island 20 years ago as an Army general, accompanying then-President Ronald Reagan.
In 1983, then-President Ronald Reagan sent troops to invade Grenada after a coup that the United States feared would give Cuba more influence in the Caribbean. Nineteen Americans died in the invasion, along with some 45 Grenadians and 24 Cubans.
Cuba is absent on the list of nations to receive U.S. hurricane aid this year; President Fidel Castro has rebuffed U.S. help.
Powell said he had considered a trip to Haiti, where Tropical Storm Jeanne left more than 1,870 dead and 884 missing, but decided against it because Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson had just visited Haiti. Diplomatic sources said the Haiti visit was put off due to political clashes that have left at least 19 dead.
Grenada lost about 60 percent of its critical nutmeg crop, and officials say it will take about a decade for the industry to reach pre-Ivan levels, though there is enough nutmeg in stock to satisfy world markets for at least three years.
More than a third of the island's 100,000 residents depend on spice farming for work. Grenada is the world's No. 2 nutmeg producer after Indonesia.
Powell said the U.S. government also would "see what we can do" to help Grenada deal with the nutmeg issue "or perhaps diversify the agricultural sector."
