Should Britain rescue tourists stranded by Hurricane Irma?
I HAVE travelled extensively in the Caribbean and have always made sure I never went in the hurricane season when you stand a greater chance of your holiday being ruined or, indeed, putting yourself in danger. Once abroad, you should expect to be on your own if things go wrong — and if help is available, it could take some time to materialise. JEAN BLANCHARD, South Benfleet, Essex. THE new multi-billion-pound flagship HMs Queen Elizabeth is impotent as a warship because she is still waiting for her aircraft. But as a vessel that can carry supplies and provide a floating hospital, she is ideal for providing humanitarian aid in the hurricane-hit islands. so why is she languishing in Portsmouth?
RICHARD COATES, Hayling Island, Hants. INSTEAD of blaming the Government, why not complain that the travel and
insurance companies are doing little for stranded tourists? It is not the Foreign Office’s responsibility to rescue people on holiday. I’d prefer that my overseas aid contributions went to the destitute local people. CHRISTINA M. REX, Ely, Cambs. FLORIDA and the Caribbean are famous for extremes of weather. Why should it be incumbent on the British Government to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds getting you home, especially as this would be paid for by the taxes of those of us who are happy to holiday in more temperate climes. If you choose to holiday in the North of England in midSeptember, you wouldn’t ignore the advice to take a warm coat.
PAUL MORLEy, Skipton, N. yorks. ORGANISING the repatriation to the UK of tourists is not the most pressing issue. The damage is spread over several thousand square miles, and it is not possible to evacuate everyone while also helping the islanders. Shouting loudly that someone couldn’t get on an aircraft in a foreign country does not mean they have been abandoned. MIKE EVANS, Guildford, Surrey. IT’S time to rename the foreign aid budget as the disaster fund. Then it could help those caught up in the hurricane and also people who suffer floods in the UK.
J. FOSTER, Ormskirk, Lancs. TOURISTS should stop thinking of themselves and consider the local people who have lost everything. Once the visitors get home, will they forget the people they have left behind? CAROLINE LEWIS, Wylye, Wilts. HELP: I’m trapped by a hurricane because I’m on holiday in a hurricane zone in the hurricane season! Why doesn’t the Government do something? Wish you were here. CHRIS PHASEy, Dover, Kent.