Acclaimed actor appeals to international community to help the Caribbean island devastated by recent hurricane Irma.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro came to the United Nations (UN) on Monday to ask every possible countries and organisations to help rebuild the Caribbean island of Barbuda destroyed by recent hurricane Irma.
Irma wreaked havoc in the Caribbean and damaged and destroyed an estimated 90 percent of the structures on the small island of Barbudah which is home to about 1,400 people, according to The Independent.
“We must act together to help the most vulnerable,” said De Niro who co-owns the site of a resort in the island. “The recovery process will be a long, hard road. Barbudans must be a part of it, their homes repaired stronger, rebuilt stronger, new homes stronger. The immediate needs — power, water, food, medical care, animals sheltered — must be met.”
The governor general of Antigua and Barbuda, Rodney Williams, said that the preliminary estimate for rebuilding Barbuda is $300 million, which is equivalent to more than 20 percent of the country’s GDP.
The entire population has been moved to nearby Island Antigua and at present, not a single person currently lives in Barbuda.
“We have a humanitarian crisis, an entire island destroyed,” added De Niro.
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