The Editor,
The Anguillian
Dear Sir,
Our recent Hurricane Gonzalo seemingly took aim at different areas of Anguilla in varying degrees of power and destruction. Many persons were unaware that a Cat. 1 hurricane was imminent – some did not even put up shutters. Information from the internet seemed to depend on when you checked and did not help either. ANGLEC was the first company to shut down (for obvious safety reasons) and LIME went down soon after – so no phone communications. I wondered about that! Caribbean Cable was next. Perhaps the angry person in The Anguillian, (Oct. 31st) was new to the disastrous effects of hurricanes. However, every customer of all these utilities was hit at a different level. From Mon. Oct. 13 to Sat. Oct. I8, I had no electricity (six days) and you know what? My bill increased by almost two dollars! You would think that this company helped me drag heavy pails of water up steps or bought me flashlights and candles! Re LIME, I had no telephone from Oct. 13 to Mon. Nov. 03. 2014 (21 days). That bill did not reflect the slightest concession. In contrast, I got back service from Caribbean Cable on Thursday, Oct. 23rd, at about 6.00 pm. (11 days). Half an hour later, I received a call from that company asking if the service had been restored and offering concessions in two areas. Some utility company Owners/Managers seem to promote the idea that ‘they did not cause the hurricane’, but then neither did I. Why then am I paying full price for service I did not receive? For three weeks I had a heavy cable lying across my yard – I never knew who it belonged to – but since my car could pass under this cable, it remained there until the owners were able to remove it.
I think most companies do the best they can, even if they appear to blame the customers for the damage. Thanks to those men at North Hill who spent many days clearing our roads with machetes and bulldozers. As one chap said, ‘this is our community service’.
Anguillians are usually resourceful on occasions like this and realize that the government can’t do it all – it would take forever. So thanks too for all those street corners and road side areas that have been cleared of debris and made passable again. Now, it is the turn of our government! I hope some of the insurance funds Anguilla received will go towards really cleaning up Anguilla – get rid of all those unsightly, straggly trees on the road sides. The southern side of the pond at Sandy Ground is simply awful, and further along that road looks forbidding and feels like a dark tunnel of overhanging branches. Please, tidy up the road sides, cut down (not trim) the trees as low as possible.
Best wishes,
North Hill Resident
