Dear Editor,
Already over a month since Maple Creek was flooded and things have gone back to normal, so it seems.  Hard to believe that in a matter of minutes your life changes so quickly, I feel I am still stuck in a bad dream riding this unbelievable emotional rollercoaster. There are still several families who have no homes and are staying at different hotels in town or have friends who have opened their doors to them. And after being denied coverage by their insurance companies, these families’ only hope is the government’s good sense of compassion and concern for their own people. Only someone who has lived through it is able to really understand what it is like; one minute you have a home, a business, a livelihood and the next minute it is all gone.
It reminds me of when I was a child still living in Guatemala, 1976 a major earthquake hit the country. Thousands of people dead and even more left homeless.  The devastation was so great! I remember the line ups to get food and the tents where we were sleeping in. To us kids it was all like a big game, but for our parents it was unbelievably hard. Countries from around the world were sending all kinds of money and goods to be passed on to all who were affected. I have asked my mom how much money she was given and she indicated that she did not see any money. They received food while they were on state of emergency and the press was around; as soon as the eyes of the world were off of the country things were forgotten and the people were left on their own. There was a country that donated several modular homes, all equipped and furnished, which were to be given away to those who had nothing left. Our wonderful government at the time was so generous that they decided to sell them at a “low cost” and to this day we do not know what all happened to the furniture that was supposed to be included. 
This should not, of course, keep us from helping those in need. We are all called to help one another. I believe that there will always be someone who will try to take advantage of bad situations to benefit themselves, but I also believe that they, some day, will be accountable for their actions. I guess what I am trying to say is, our government is so speedy and so generous when it comes to helping other countries in need.  There are no building inspectors, no adjustors, no appraisers involved – they just sign on the dotted line, no questions asked. They do not make them wait three to six months. When there is a need, there is a quick response. Our prime minister himself toured Haiti when an earthquake affected that country. 
Unfortunately that has not been the case for those of us who were affected by the flood here in Maple Creek.  I cannot speak for those affected anywhere else as I am not informed about their situation. What I know is what I am experiencing right now. We had to apply for assistance, lots of paper work! After that, we have had a parade of building inspectors, adjusters, appraisers, etc. And still here we are over a month after and not knowing more than what we did the day after the flood. 
We keep calling and we keep getting the same answer, “we are waiting for the reports to come in, please be patient” Patient? How would they like to be displaced and not having an income? I know the government is bragging about a $3,000 cheque that was given to everyone who was affected. Could they live on that for three to six months? Not only that, but when Social Services found out about this cheque they took away the help for those staying in hotels. These people were being kicked out of their rooms the very next day.  Thanks to the intervention of our mayor this was quickly fixed.
On June 27, 2010 Mr. Harper announced that he would be giving $33 million to aid Haiti in paying their international debt. Great! We have worked hard and paid our taxes, we have never asked for a hand out from the government. Doesn’t our government realize that whatever money they give to people to get back on their feet, they will eventually get back in taxes? We as Canadian taxpayers living in the province of Saskatchewan deserve to be treated better, we are victims not beggars!
Ziomara Anstey
Maple Creek, Sask.