Celebrating 39 years of Independence amidst the devastating toil of hurricane Maria:
Spotlight on the ‘Nature isle’ of Dominica.
Dubbed the nature island of the Caribbean the breathtakingly beautiful island of Dominica which neighbors St Lucia and Guadeloupe is known for its lush green mountainous structure, hot springs and rain forest.
For many years the agricultural industry has been a major source of income for the island, trading in various exotic fruits as well as bananas, mangoes and aloe Vera.
Dominica gained their independence from the United Kingdom on November 3rd 1978, since then independence celebrations have been elaborate and colorful with music, dance, traditional food and a week long Creole festival. Leandra Samuels a London resident of Dominican descent describes the colorful events that take place to mark this occasion such as ‘Heritage day, Creole day and Market day. Where people dress in national colors, traditional food is plentiful, concerts and various festivities are prevalent throughout the island to mark the occasion.’
Mecka Darroux a New York based Dominican and data analysis originally from the region of Canefield in Dominica described the month long plethora of cultural activities that take place to mark this occasion. Most notable ‘Our Miss wob dwiyet pageant, which involves ladies dressed in traditional Dominican wear of wob dwiyet participating in various rounds whilst speaking in our local language of Creole to compete for the title’ Mecka also described traditional cuisines and other festivities which take place during this time ‘During the independence season, our taste buds run wild while indulging in our national dish, callalou which consists of spinach, dasheen leaf, crab and a mix of various spices and herbs. We also attend numerous concerts such as Creole in the park, a week long event sponsored by local businesses including our most famous World Creole music festival where major international, regional and local acts perform for 3 nights of pulsating rhythms.’
Todays Independence celebration however comes just over a month after hurricane Maria’s devastating impact on the lush green Nature isle of Dominica.
On September 19th 2017 a category 5 hurricane plummeted Dominica with powerful 160mph winds turning the island upside down. This not only resulted in the loss of much valued crops and plants essential to the agricultural industry but also damage to 98% of the islands infrastructure and most tragically the loss of human life. Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit described the horrific events as they unfolded though Facebook updates. One post stating “my roof is gone. I am at the complete mercy of the hurricane. House is flooding”
The days that followed were a great test of hardship and turmoil for Dominicans at home and abroad who witnessed or received news that their beloved country had been devastated beyond recognition. Monique Elie a London resident of Dominican descent describes spending numerous days dealing with anxiety and worry for her family and friends back home as communications channels had been so sabotaged by the merciless impact of Maria it was impossible to reach out to loved ones back home. Ms. Darroux described Maria as being ‘the worst disaster to ever occur in the lush paradise I call home’ Ms. Darroux went on to describe the horrifying damage:‘No one expected the country to be completely ravaged and brought to its knees, I remember staying tuned to Dominica’s local radio stations, the initial report stated that Maria was a category 2 hurricane but in a matter of hours, she shifted into a venomous category 5. When 11pm came that night communication on the island was completely shut down, only 1 radio station could provide chilling updates due to their analog Ham radio. They gave accounts of terrify howling winds, sounds of people screaming and roofs of peoples homes being ripped off. 24 hours later there was absolutely no communication on the island, this lasted for approximately 1 week. I was one of the many Dominicans abroad who became filled with angst whilst awaiting news from my loved ones, in particularly my father who had traveled to the island only 2 days prior to the hurricane hitting. Due to the phone service on the island being down I made use of social media to get the word out that I was trying to locate my father. Thankfully within 24 hours he called and my worries were laid to rest. I remember him saying “Mix….it’s bad…everything is gone…Dominica looks like a war zone”
Today rebuilding is in full effect but there is a long way to go before complete recovery can come into fruition. Many schools are still closed resulting in fellow Caribbean islands including The Bahamas and Nevis opening up their borders to accommodate school aged children thus giving them an opportunity to continue their education. London resident Ms. Samuels confirmed that her school aged great niece had been sent to the Island of Nevis for schooling as her previous school building in the region of Canefield where she lived in Dominican is still too damaged to reopen.
Despite all the great efforts being made towards rebuilding from within the Dominican community, other Caribbean nations and international communities much work needs to be done to assist in the rebuilding effort. Not only was Maria catastrophic from an infrastructure and agricultural standpoint, the drainage system is also badly damaged, food is needed as well as sanitary products, medical necessities and clean water. The negative implications from Maria will be felt for years but with persistence and resilience the beautiful nature island of Dominica can and will be restored.
Happy Independence Day Dominica!!!
Special thanks to Monique Elie, Leandra Samuels and Mecka Darroux for their bravery, strength and assistance in contributing to this information.
For those who would like to assist in donating to Domincas rebuilding efforts there are various charities accepting donations including the official Dominican government endorsed Dominican relief site below.
http://dominicarelief.org/
By:Gizelle watkins
