“We need to relocate, not me alone but a lot of people in Good Hope. We need to move from there.” Sheng Seraphin
“This is not the time of my great grandmother them, they didn’t want to move…It is just not safe in Good Hope, we just have to move out from there.” Laura Laurent
“Should we get more rain, I think there’s going to be a very serious situation here in Good Hope so this side, Cochrane area…have to move.” Ashille Grove
Well the rains are down again today and it’s like déjà vu from Thursday, August 27th, 2015, when Tropical Storm Erika hit Dominica in all her glory bringing with her rain and more rain.
In the aftermath of TS Erika, DNO spoke with villager after villager after villager on the Cochrane side of Good Hope and relocation was their mantra.
One such villager is Shern Seraphin. He said they can’t move on their own but if they get help, it will be a good thing for them to move out.
Laura Laurent took us back in time to give a historical perspective. She did not appear to be speaking in the “heat of the moment” or “off the top of her head” as she seemed to have given a lot of thought to the issue.
“I remember years back, after Hurricane David, under the Freedom Party, the people from Good Hope were asked to relocate. They had land allocated to them to relocate but seeing that the people had already settled and everything, like those were the only houses they had.”
Laura explained that, at the time, they didn’t move because of fear of the unknown.
“They didn’t know what they were going to meet and how they were going to fare so most of them refused to go. But now, after 36 years, seeing the terrain we are in, seeing the condition we are in, people like me and him [Shern], whatever it takes, if we have to sign petitions, if we have to go through whatever process we have to go through, we are willing to come out.
“We are honestly willing to come out because when you go further down you will see where I live, you will see where other young people live, at least they have their little houses but if we have to come out, we have to come out.”
Laura is aware that relocation would be part of a process but she’s willing to go through it.
“Then we can go back through the same process because I know there are lands in Castle Bruce; they have been allocated to us. People are on this land and it hasn’t been paid for but the people are just using it so if the Government could just come, allocate this land, speak to the people who are on the land, ask them to get another place so they could do their farming and then come together with us. Let us speak and come to a conclusion, and decide okay we have to move but make the land available to us. We’ll do whatever we have to do to get out of there because this area is just not safe.
“This is not the time of my great grandmother them, they didn’t want to move. As long as we have the lots available to us, we will do something, we will move on with our lives. It is just not safe in Good Hope, we just have to move out from there.”
Pointing to the Good Hope Resource Centre, Laura said that even the shelter is not suitable.
“This is not stable up there. You cannot have people come to shelter underneath the Resource Centre, it is not stable. Up there you have small landslides going down around this area so you don’t know, this one can come down again, because when you look at it, from each and every little hole, water pops out. You can’t have people come there as a disaster preparedness place to shelter. It’s just making things difficult for us so if we can get the persons responsible to tell us where to move, how to go forward with our action, we can work with them to better ourselves and get out of Good Hope.”
Ashille Grove, Chairman of the Good Hope Village Council, echoed their sentiments. He made what he described as a strong recommendation to Government to assist them in any way possible to relocate the community, especially the Cochrane area where there have been three major landslides.
“There are houses between those slides and they are very close to the slides. Should we get more rain, I think there’s going to be a very serious situation here in Good Hope so this side, Cochrane area, I’m calling on the Government to step up and do what they can now. Don’t wait for next year, hurricane season come. Do what they can now and eventually I would want to see that we have a new Good Hope and we all can get out of here because this is not a safe place for us to stay.”
Mr. Grove further intimated that a Town Hall meeting will be convened with the community to hear from residents in terms of what they would want because the Council is making that strong recommendation for relocation but the people have to have their say. It is his hope that the Government and the NGO’s will meet with them to discuss the way forward so that it can be done collectively.
When the land was allocated to the people of good hope said ‘we are not living together with Castle Bruce people.’what happen now.my land is paid for every inch of it.soufriere. have am empty estate.my take.and for the record majority of the land on the estate is paid for.be informed.
Seeking help is one thing. Pointing on others is another. Now it is not Good Hope’s turn for relocation. Having said that,if you consider your area unsafe to live in, and wish or favor an area you would prefer,go to housing department and they will advise you on any vacant allotment. Like you said ,you are young and can start again
That is what you got from the story? I am not sure if you remember but Good Hope lost 3 people as a result of Erika. Their plight is entirely relevant. That does not take anything away from the dire plight of the Petite Savanne people.
Its nice to know we are very much concerned about the places we live and our lifes, but please bear with the Government as we all know its not an easy task removing persons from the dwelling, comfortable homes and relocating them. As we all the Government main focus is those who were directly affected by the storm Ericka.
Dominica on a whole, is a very mountainous country, if we have to look at all the villages, we are all surounded by mountains, so therefore the Government cannot rellocate or evacuate every village.
Most of the villages are in a hole,lets look at Campbell, Petite Soufirere,Tite Morne etc, If the Government have to move all these people, the QUESTON is where is he going to put them or rellocate them to.
We are in the hurricane season, lets just be safe until its over. Do all youcan to keep your family and others same during this period of time.
Mr. Prime Minister, Parliamentary Representative, the Church other concerned individuals and organizations, please listen to the voice of the people of Good Hope. Finally some body in Good Hope has begun to critically think of the future of the community of Good Hope. Listen to them. Efforts to relocate Petite Savanne must continue unabated. Good Hope is in a similar state of dire need. There are lands, not too far on San Sauveur Estate and Castle Bruce Estate. The search for suitable lands may also include Rosalie Estate. Expensive project, yes! but what will be the price of losing an entire community? As we are at it, consider too that the community of Petite Soufriere is also begging for similar attention. Let us do something good for the people of these three communities. Others (Penville, Campbell etc) may also require some consideration for relocation. It may require a particular Minister to be charged with the specific responsibility for relocating such communities.
Hold strong my Good Hope people. I am happy the youth are now sayings its time to move. Too many calamities in this area. You guys don’t have to move far because Bois Mygo, Fye, Cola-Seewe and even Castle Bruce have lots of place for you all. Stay strong and keep praying. To Mr. Grove (Tick) you are a community leader so now its your time to fight for the good folks of the community. All shoulders to the wheel. Forward we go!!
Assertive, NEVER Aggressive!
Poor Dominica. Now, poor the people of Good Hope.
So far, you have stuck it out patiently but for how long?
Dominica is prone to rainfall.
How long will it be safe for you to continue living at Good Hope? The situation is crucial.
Yours is a plea for wanting to reside in a safe area.
I hope it will be soon.
Admin, I believe the individual you interviewed was Sheng Seraphin and not Shern Seraphin, as indicated later in the article.
the people comes first, government have to step in. Dominica is full of empty land