Many still remember it like it was yesterday. The13th April in 1979 was Good Friday of that year. It was a public holiday of course; but because it was the 13th it was also “black” Friday. For several days, people had raised questions about the possible disruption that would occur with Good Friday being a “black” Friday. There was also some political tension in the air as the issue of national independence was being discussed.
Well, to paraphrase Shake Kean, “the thing split that morning in two; it groaned and snapped like breaking an old habit”. And all man duck for cover. Jokes are told of radio announcements to, “Remain calm!” I always wonder how the Cadets felt- they were on a special route march on the central mountain spine on the Thursday night and would have had the fore day morning fireworks display awaken them. However; by 9 a.m. or so, they were back in town and assisting the evacuation effort. I still remember the big green military truck they used to assist. “Keep Calm”, “Don't Panic” and mean time BBC news saying that it is possible the island could split or sink or something. And they (the international media) couldn't even find this place on the map!
I remember the “cloud” hanging in the sky; it was majestic, dominating and oh so beautiful with clear blue, framing and highlighting it. And there were the thunder like sounds and rumblings. Then, about noon there was “snow”. The ash fall started and stopped, and started and stopped, and continued that way for many days as the mountain “refreshed itself”. An elderly woman who lives in Barbados has on her living room shelf a small glass jar full of grey/brown dust. She told me it was Soufrière ash, which she swept up on the 3rd day. Many from far and near kept Soufrière dust as proof of the happening. People say the ‘ashing’ revived the soil, but if that powder got wet, it got heavy like concrete.
Schools did not close. They just did not reopen after the Easter holidays for they were serving as shelters. Form five students who were to write GCE exams had some classes; but the big issue was arranging to hold external exams in such challenging circumstances. And of course there were also several form five students among the displaced persons. People’s whole lives were disrupted when they had to move into shelters; but the authorities only moved people from places they felt were in the path of danger: Fancy, Owia, Point, London, Overland, Orange Hill and Georgetown on the Windward side; and Richmond, FitzHughes and Chateaubelair on the Leeward side.
The Central Police Station was a major hub of the activities: communication, finding “lost” persons and receiving and distributing aid. We had extensive support from overseas. “Bo-dow” was in plentiful supply. Some may ask, ‘What is “bo-dow”?’ It is the sound of La Soufrière erupting and became the word used to refer to aid items. Shirts, pants, dust masks, food items, any and everything donated in the relief effort, mostly coming from North America in response to our crisis. There were things we didn't need, like the fur lined “go-go” boots, and things we didn't know how to use. But we invented and adapted and worked our way through the remainder of the year and to Independence. In the process we gained many stories to tell of life in SVG after that fateful Good Friday.
National Treasures of St Vincent and the Grenadines.