Photo by: Navin Pato Patterson vi UN News
You lay down on the sand, the palm trees and the waves joining to preform a symphony of swishes and swirls slowly hypnotizing you into a restful doze. Amongst the many Caribbean islands in which you can find this kind of paradise is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island state on the boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 111,218 and an area of 389 square kilometers, it is the definition of a secret getaway, highly unperturbed by tourists. St. Vincent is part of the Commonwealth and the country recognizes Queen Elizabeth as their monarch while also holding free elections for prime minister, a position currently held by Ralph Gonsalves since 2001. The country heavily relies on agriculture, specifically banana production, and tourism for income. It is labeled as a lower-middle-income country. Nevertheless, the SVG, the island’s common abbreviation, is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, not only putting its citizens at risk but said vulnerability also impacts the economy greatly. Given that SVG depends on its banana production, hurricanes, drought, and disease have created great problems for the island, most notably starting in 1994 when climatic conditions affected agricultural production and thus leading to a contraction in the nation’s economy. In order to quell these issues, the country is aiming to diversify its products and exports, especially focusing on the cultivation of arrowroot, a root vegetable used as a thickening agent and a gluten-free flour. As they expand upon their role in the global economy, SVG has also been focusing on developing their tourism industry, especially creating liaisons with cruise ship companies that will lead travelers to the hidden paradise. SVGs capital, Kingstown, is home to various financial institutions that have been largely criticized world-wide given their secrecy. Although the island is a seeming recluse on the global stage, the United States has actively condemned certain illicit industries in the country given that there are a handful of marijuana plantations. The United States also claims that the island serves as a stopping point for drug traffickers en route to the United States and South America. Currently, Saint Vincent’s most pressing economic problem is the lack of employment and levels of rural poverty.
Despite its untouched beauty, the island has recently suffered a great tragedy, the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano. Dormant since 1979, the volcano started spring ashes and smoke in late 2020 and eventually erupted on April 9th 2021. Tremors, earthquakes, explosions, and ash rippled through the island. More than 20,000 evacuated their homes and moved toward the northern part of the island, hoping to find refuge from the overwhelming ashes and dust. Losing their access to clean water as it became contaminated due to the eruption, people became afraid of history repeating itself given that in 1902, the volcano exploded killing around 1,700 people. Fortunately no deaths have been reported, but everyone from citizens to tourists have been forced to find refuge. The area constraints of the island have resulted in the evacuation of people from the island onto cruise ships. AP states that around 20% of the population has been displaced, but authorities are focusing on protecting around 6,000 of them who are considered the most vulnerable. On April 13th, Ralph Gonsalves made a public announcement on NBC Radio, a state owned radio company, asking the island’s citizens to help each other combat the growing problem of homelessness derived from La Soufriere’s eruption. Gonsalves said, “...if you know such [displaced] individuals, take them to a shelter please…because a lot of people are stretched doing a lot of things. So I want to urge initiatives in that way also.” In the same broadcast he also announced that people in “orange zones” —vulnerable areas- are “having difficulties in some cases with food”. Unfortunately, the explosion is also said to reach Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda, neighboring islands. These island nations should expect heavy ash-fall and tremors catalyzed by La Soufriere. Didier Trebucq, the UN coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean said that although the main explosion happened on April 9th, the volcano is expected to continue spewing ash reaching neighboring countries as far as Saint Lucia and Grenada. In a report to the media, Trebucq continued to say that the eruption is the start of a humanitarian crisis that will last “certainly more than six months in the sub-region, in Saint Vincent, and other islands”. Around 87 shelters have been set up around the island, most of them finding it difficult to acquire basic necessities like food and clean drinking water. In addition to the displacement of thousands of people, areal pictures taken with drones show an ash covered nation, houses seeming to be covered with a cast of gray dust. In addition to the displacement crisis, authorities are worried about how this will affect COVID-19 cases in the community. The makeshift shelters do not provide adequate social distancing, but the government is adamant that they will do their best to maintain safety guidelines as prompted by the World Health Organization. The long term impact of the explosion are yet to be determined, but many are worried about the effects the eruption will have on the agricultural and tourism sector. The UN Environment Program with aid from the European Union are using their resources and volunteers to help clean up the island and remove the ashes that have now consumed St. Vincent.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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