Trials, Tragedy and Resilience

passing the island of Rhodonda on the way to Montserrat - a long story for this uninhabited island.

Trials, Tragedy and Resilience

This title of exhibits at the Montserrat National Museum sums up Montserrat.  The very active volcano here forced the evacuation of almost 2/3 of the island beginning in 1995. Their capital of Plymouth was largely buried in mud or burned by the pyroclastic flow. On our tour with Joe Phillips we stopped at the volcano observatory to watch a film of the eruptions and learn about the type of volcanos which have constructed the Caribbean islands. Not only has the volcano erupted but is has also grown taller over the process.

 With Joe we toured a neighborhood of homes that were in the former exclusion zone and covered with ash.  While they were not buried or burned, the ash is so fertile that now these homes are consumed by vegetation. We also were able to visit the current exclusion zone to see the new shore line – areas that once were underwater are now dry land. The pier that once was far out in the water is now close to shore.  In Old Road Bay we drove over the pier – it is now on land. 

 Many citizens of Montserrat moved away and although the population seems to be rebuilding it is still less than 50% of its former size. 

However, the people are friendly, the land is beautiful and as Joe said, “Why would anyone want to live anywhere else?” They have endured many trials and tragedies but their resilience is amazing.