Further Reminiscences about 1979

1979 was certainly an eventful year for the people of this country. The April eruption of the volcano probably set the tone and made its early impact, but 1979 was also the year of Independence, of elections and of a mini-revolt in Union Island.{{more}}

In last week’s column, I had made reference to the impact of the first ‘night eruption’ which so scared many people that the following morning many scampered to the airport, trying to get flights out of the country. There had not been an eruption for a few days and many felt that the worse had gone. I remember going to a picnic that night with other persons who had been assisting at the shelters in Barrouallie. The picnic was at Peter’s Hope and was followed by a party at the Doctor’s residence at Pembroke. Someone had phoned into the radio station and indicated that we were having a party. I remember Nina Maloney, who was on air then, dedicating tunes to ‘those persons who were enjoying their late night dancing’. It was not long after that I went outside and realised that another eruption was taking place. We phoned Nina Maloney again and she relayed the information to the rest of the country and to wherever the sound of the radio could be heard.

Some of the fears that existed at that time would have been fuelled by the realization that over 1600 persons had died in 1902. A lot had changed since then, including the development of technology that allowed closer monitoring of the volcano. In 1812, the rumblings from the volcano were so intense that in Antigua the Commander of the Forces stationed there called the militias out fearing an impending attack on the island. 1812 was also the year when the Rabacca River, which had previously supplied water to the estates in that area, became a ‘Dry River’. It was said that in 1902 some 2 million tons of volcanic dust fell in Barbados. The Imperial Government then did not rule out the possibility of evacuating the whole island. So, a volcanic eruption was not to be taken lightly based on some of the stories that had been handed down to us.

The eruption of that year brought in the term ‘bodow’, used for the tons of stuff that came in to assist persons who were dislocated and who were deprived of their income. What was significant about this and necessitated the coining of the word were the claims being made that a lot of the stuff which came in for those in shelters were taken by people who manned some of the centres, some of them of the view that much of the stuff was of such high quality that the refugees would not be able to appreciate them. This was one of the nastiest aspects of that time.

The evacuation of the northern part of the island seriously disrupted agricultural production and affected life generally, some schools, for instance, having to be used as shelters. It was this kind of disruption that had led to some suggestions that Independence be postponed, since the country had not settled down enough. Vincentians in the Diaspora did a tremendous

job, initiating and organizing relief for the dispossessed and generally the people of the country came together and assisted each other. With the kind of divisions that exist today I am not sure that a similar thing will happen now.

1979 is also recognized in literary circles for the series of poems called the “Volcano Suite” that were produced by Shake Keane. Shake observed the eruptions from the Fishnet Restaurant, at which he was a regular patron. In the introduction to his book of poems Shake writes, “These poems, therefore are contemplations. They range from the recognition of immediate disaster to a vision of a future composed not merely of the will to survive, but the practical necessity of love for one another, with the co-ordinates of that Presence.” Shake’s Soufriere 79 captures the atmosphere of the times in a manner that only Shake can tell it: “The thing split Good Friday in two/and that good new morning groaned and snapped/like breaking an old habit.

Within minutes/people who had always been leaving nowhere/began arriving nowhere/entire lives stuffed in pillow cases and used plastic bags/naked children suddenly transformed into citizens…

Mysterious people ordered/other mysterious people /to go to mysterious places “immediately”…

Someone who lives /inside a microphone/kept things in order”. This was classic Shake Keane and captured fittingly the atmosphere at that time.

(Comments could be sent to fraser.adrian@gmail.com)

Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian.