Meeting the local people: a chance to understand their realities

The 6^th of July we had one of the most valuable experiences since we arrived: meeting the vincentians from the villages of Chateaubelair, Rose Bank, Petit Bordel and Rose Hall. For me, communities and the people must be the most respected assets of any place. They know the story, the roots and the social bonds that have been created along time, sharing their culture through generations. We could see a small part of all these concepts when we were able to talk to them. All though we didn’t have that much time, it was such an enriching experience. We were able to talk to them about what they had lived during the night of the 23^rd of December of 2013, date in which a strong rainstorm left terrible environmental consequences like earth erosion, landslides and contamination. Unfortunately, this episode also caused the death of five members of a family.

The first local man we met was in Chateaubelair. All though it’s easy to judge by a first impression, this guy confirmed how wrong that attitude is. Without a doubt he knew what he was talking about, and how wouldn’t he, if he is a journalist from the city. In honor of his job, he told us about the human and environmental consequences after the five-hours storm that happen one night before Christmas, back in 2013. The most interesting fact was seeing one of the four bridges donated by the Ecuadorian Government, as a partnership in which engineers of the army came to St. Vincent to work during six months to reconstruct this pedestrian and vehicular passages. At that moment, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said: “we were victims of climate change with this rainstorm that has no precedents in our land. All though the countries of the south are not responsible of this catastrophes, we support each other and take the needed actions”.

The second person we met was Doris, who lives in the village of Rose Bank. Unfortunately, she was very close to this natural disaster: five members of her family died drowned by 10 meters of water and mud. Even though it was a felt lost, she highlighted the advantage of this happening during the night, because if it had been during the day, many more people would have died.  

The last person we talked to was in Petit Bordel. Acibam was the name of this kind man who hinted a very special piece of Vincentian culture: the celebrations of funerals. Regardless he could save his kids from the river flow, seeing how homes and land were destroyed was a tough experience that he will never forget. And either Aciabm or the community will forget the people who died. The best way to say the last good bye was with music and a big party in which the celebration of life takes place.

Doris from Rose Bank

Acibam from Petit Bordel

Having the chance to know them was wonderful because it let us see the human side of what natural disasters imply, but we have to keep enhancing these meeting spaces. If we really want to create a bond with the vincentians, and mostly, with the locals from the closest villages, we have to be involved in their daily life. We can’t pretend that they open their doors without knowing us; if they perceive us as scientists that want to study them like mice from a laboratory, they will never feel comfortable among us, leading to an evident failure for any project we want to implement. 

In sociology there is a concept called Social Capital, which refers to social relations that have productive benefits. When a community is able to create a Social Capital, eight consequences comes out: sense of belonging, networks, feelings of trust and safety, reciprocity, participation, citizen power and proactivity, values or norms, and diversity. All these concepts are totally in line with what we want to do in our Climate Compliance program, but it will only be possible if we engage ourselves not only as a part of Richmond Vale Academy, but as an added value and a strategic ally for the vincentians, or at least, of the local people from the closest villages. Once we can create and strength this bonds, we will be able to make sustainable processes within communities, reaching a real development for the region.