The divisional commander of the Salvation Army has expressed shock that the people of Grenada seemed to be disorientated three weeks after Hurricane Ivan hit.

?People were milling around aimlessly, obviously very hurt and dazed by what had happened,? he said, Major Lindsay Rowe, who travelled to Grenada this month for four days to help with relief efforts. He said that three weeks after the Hurricane ripped through the Island it still looked like ?a war zone?.

He said he was surprised to see fires burning all over when he flew over the Island.

?People were gathering garbage and trees and burning it all over the capital city (St. George?s).?

And said he witnessed clouds of smoke looming over the city.

Major Rowe said: ?You get a sad feeling when you see fires and smoke ? people burning the remains of their houses.?

Major Rowe left Bermuda on September 21 headed for Barbados were he purchased supplies to take to Grenada. He said Grenada had imposed a 6 p.m. curfew because 17 political prisoners escaped during the violent hurricane and because there was a fear of looting.

Of the devastation he said vegetation was completely horizontal and many homes were without roofs. The older homes are built with wooden structures but even the newer buildings made of stone and brick could not weather the fierce storm, said Major Rowe.

He said there was a lot of security for the relief teams and Grenada?s Government did not want teams coming in unannounced because they wanted to provide security for them.

Major Rowe was assigned to St. George?s Parish, in Grenada were he set up a preparation and distribution centre for the much needed supplies. While he was in Grenada he said he sat in on a United Nations development program meeting were they discussed rebuilding the country.

At the meeting it was established that St. George?s University students would be transferred to universities in the US and Caribbean.

And A level or high school students would be dispersed throughout the Caribbean to continue their education. He added that Caricom will be responsible for finding the students homes while they study in foreign countries awaiting their country to be rebuilt.

?I saw one school that was twisted and turned ? it can not be rebuilt and will have to be bulldozed and completely reconstructed,? he said. Major Rowe added that the vast majority of schools were severely damaged or destroyed by the hurricane.

?It rained quite heavily one afternoon and I saw people sitting in their houses with no roofs ? a lot of people had no place to go and there was a serious shortage of tarpaulin and plastic.?

The Salvation Army has a church in St. George?s and Major Rowe said that Grenadians were sleeping on the pews and floor of the church.

He said that there was almost total devastation in the Parishes of St. George?s and St. David?s.

Ironically, these two Parishes are close together similar to Bermuda. Two and a half weeks after the hurricane, which killed 30 people, locals were still desperate for food and water ? damage to the airport and the curfew did not allow much flow of imported goods, he said.

The Salvation Army sent numerous goods including food, water, tents, and cots. Major Rowe said the Grenadians were looking for tools to begin rebuilding their homes.

Grenada or the ?Isle of Spice? took a blow to their agriculture and Major Rowe said that they are a leading producer of nutmeg but he thinks it will take years before the trees, which take seven years to grow, will be restored.

Major Rowe said that the 340 square mile Island with a population of 98,000 may take a long time before it can profit from export again. He added that he did not feel there was enough aid coming to the Grenada and that he does not believe North America realises how much aid is required to rebuild the Island.

This year?s heavy hurricane season may have made it difficult for one country to receive the necessary help to restore itself because people were overwhelmed, he said.

The next phase for the Salvation Army is to help in rebuilding Grenada. Fund raising has begun already, said Major Rowe, who hopes to provide workers and materials for Grenada?s reconstruction efforts. ?We will rebuild Grenada? seems to be the slogan there, he said.

Major Rowe said he felt very good about the team he left in Grenada to continue the relief efforts but he hopes to return to ?roll up his sleeves? and help once again.