Good morning Caribbean peoples! As events continue to unfold in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, we want to take a look back to 1979 when the La Soufriere volcano last erupted.
At present, volcanic ash covers the islands, electricity has been cut and water supplies have been affected while tens of thousands are being evacuated to safer parts of the main island and to other territories. Life remains unsettled and the experts suggest the volcanic activity may continue for weeks or months. However, we trust that a review of the way the country and its people were able to withstand the last major seismic event and recover from its impact will instill Hope.
Persons under 40 years of age would not know first-hand what happened in 1979 and those who were toddlers might not recall the chaos of evacuation, the stress of living in shelters for 3 or 4 months before the return to one's home to engage in a lengthy clean-up and rebuilding process. For myself, living on a nearby island safe from the harm of the volcano, I have only a vague recollection of the events, perhaps from listening to adults speak of the tragedy as I navigated school life.
Fortunately, to jog our memories and to inform the uninformed, we have access to films and documentaries on YouTube as first-person accounts to help us understand the trauma and also the personal and national resilience of that period. Click on the image below or the text link for more.
[1979 Eruption - Response and Recovery - La Soufrière Volcano St Vincent - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmqjY0Qf-Xc]
While we will have to wait to see what happens next in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, it is undeniable that the resilience of Caribbean people is very real and very strong. We are still standing after hundreds of years of human rights abuses in the form of institutional slavery. As a regional bloc, CARICOM has had tremendous experience in recent years supporting our neighbours in the aftermath of numerous tropical storms, some of them being Category 5 hurricanes. We have fed, clothed, sheltered and rebuilt each other and God's grace together with our compassion and love will see us through this new challenge.
Continue to pray for the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
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