Dear Sir,
I have recently had the pleasure of visiting your beautiful island to undertake research for a book I am writing. The book looks at what happens to communities that befall disasters and how planning and urban design can create circumstances most favourable for those communities to recover.
In the course of this research I have had to ask many people for their time and insight. I know that like many communities in this situation you have had hundreds of researchers and consultants come in from overseas who have demanded your time for their project. Yet despite being merely another of many such researchers, flying in and asking of your time nearly everyone I met with, showed a remarkable generosity of spirit, being very giving of their time and insights.
Looking back on my all too brief time on the island I feel blessed to have had this opportunity to see inside the lives of a community that have been through so much but have demonstrated such remarkable resilience and compassion. Your commitment to your island and each other is inspiring.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank some people for their time, in particular James White, Dr. Clarice Barnes, Roy Graves, Edirs Wade, Bennette Roach, Nigel Harris, Charlesworth Phillip, Peter White, Fr. George, John Cox, the Hon. Charles Kirnon, Franklin Greenaway and Sue Edgecombe, the latter not just for her thoughts and love for the island but also for giving me the opportunity to do the facepainting at the Alliouagana festival. For Vicki and Liz, Amanda, Eric and Annie the memory of your thoughtfulness is something I will hold dear for a long time.
Although I baulked at drinking the water at Runaway Ghaut I feel that what I have seen on the island and the richness of the essence of humanity that is to be found here will just as surely bring me back one day.
Until then, thank you Montserrat.
Kindest regards,
Jenny Donovan
