Social Cohesion, Immigration and Memory on the Caribbean Island of Montserrat
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Post-disaster recoveries, post-disaster complexities: Social cohesion, immigration and memory on the Caribbean island of Montserrat Charlotte Monteil A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of East Anglia Department of Environmental Sciences April 2018 © This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution. ii ABSTRACT This thesis aims to better understand the long-term recovery processes after a catastrophe linked to a natural hazard, and the adaptation strategies implemented to reduce the risk of disaster and to “build-back-better”. The study focuses on the sustainability of the recovery process. It underlines the complexity of managing short-term and long-term socio- economic needs without creating new forms of vulnerability and without affecting the resilience of the society. The research focuses on the case of Montserrat, a small Caribbean island severely affected by a prolonged volcanic eruption from 1995 to 2010. Due to the destruction of its capital city, Plymouth, and most of its critical infrastructure, the island experienced mass emigration during the crisis. Demand for labour during the physical recovery and a need to re-establish a sustainable level of population has led to large-scale immigration from neighbouring Caribbean countries. Immigrants accounted for only 5-10% of the population in 1990 but now compose about half of the population. The research adopted an ethnographic approach, employing semi-structured and informal interviews, observation and focus-group discussion. It involved three seasons of fieldwork between 2014 and 2017. The changes induced by the demographic transformation of the country during an unstable period highlight a number of challenges and dilemmas for the long-term development of the island. Twenty years after the first eruption, physical and demographic recovery are seen as the main priorities, to the detriment of disaster risk reduction plans and immigration management. The research highlights how the will to restore stability conceived in terms of pre-disaster normalcy and cultural identity has tended to prevent the creation of bridging social cohesion in the newly diverse society, contributing to the marginalisation of immigrants and hence creating vulnerabilities to disaster. Although reconstruction has reduced the remaining population’s physical exposure to natural hazards, these efforts are constrained by a lack of resources and of time, and fail to consider post-disaster change in terms of social vulnerability to disaster. Moreover, memory of the previous disasters, familiarity with the volcanic hazards and the reliance on monitoring are mobilised to create a sense of safety, preventing the implementation of efficient risk communication and preparedness measures. The thesis argues that the will to iii recover stability and promote economic, physical and demographic recovery encourages the creation of a collective imaginary where the risk of natural hazards, especially of volcanic hazards, is largely minimised. It claims that this prevents the country from adopting adaptive strategies based on learning, experience and memory. The thesis makes a case for adopting a comprehensive view of post-disaster recovery, one that takes into consideration the interactions between different dimensions of the process, and the social system in which the redevelopment occurs and that existed before the disaster. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This PhD has been a long, challenging but very enriching journey. Three years that would have been much more difficult without the encouragements of many people around me. I am very grateful to have been guided and supported by Peter, Anna, Jenni and Roger along this PhD. Peter, your endless knowledge and critical eyes have helped me to constantly question myself and deepen my ideas. Our long discussions and your faith in me have been invaluable to keep me passionate and determined through all these years. Anna, thank you so much for your confidence and your support especially in the moments I was despaired. Thanks also to Jenni for your expertise and knowledge on Montserrat and on volcanoes. This research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council through EnvEast Doctoral Training Partnership. I must acknowledge financial support from UEA for supporting my living and for funding the opportunity to present some of my results back in Montserrat. Over the ten months that I spent in Montserrat, I certainly grew and learnt a lot. I met some incredible people, who supported me and motivate me to pursue my research. Rose, you are for sure one of the most inspiring women I met in my life. I am extremely grateful to have met you through this journey and for your precious support and motivational words. A special thanks to all those who have supported me in Montserrat in one way or another: Juliana, Claude, Maria, Carmen, and Mr. Morales, Bettrice, Rolando, Joyceline, David, Clover and Noah, Delbert, Albert, Jay, Ali, Rosa, Billy, John, Simone, Rod, George, Gaïa, Rhavo and Nicolas. I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart all the people from the different communities who trusted me and shared a bit of their lives with me. A special thanks also to the Office of the Governor and Elizabeth Carriere for helping me sharing my results back to Montserrat; to the Government of Montserrat and its office in London, and to the Red Cross. I sincerely hope that my research can help Montserrat at least as much as Montserrat has help me to grow. Back in Norwich, I can honestly say that the long hours in the office would have been much more laborious without the company of my amazing office-mates! Alia, thank you so much for your daily support and these wonderful sunny breaks! Your slaps in my face may have helped (a bit) to bring me where I am now! Gurpreet, your support as soon as I met you has helped me so much to feel a bit more at home here. We won’t abandon you now that it v is your turn! Keep going! And of course thank you also for the Gulab Jamum! And Jackie, you know you’re much more than a colleague! It is your turn now ladies, hang on! Should I thank chocolate-courgette cakes, coffees, Cappucino, snow flakes and mandarins? Thanks also to all those who have become my Norwich family over the years: Clara, Sagar, Bibek, Mark, Netti and all others! Janet, a special thanks to you for your 5min daily support in Zicer and even after! Thank you also Barbara, Don and David for your last minute invaluable help! Thanks also to Nicolas who accompanied me and supported me through a large part of this journey, despite all. Most importantly, I am extremely grateful to my parents and my brother for their unwavering encouragements. Merci de tout mon cœur pour sans cesse croire en moi, vous inquiéter mais continuer quand même à m’encourager à poursuivre mes rêves, même lorsqu’ils qui m’éloignent toujours un peu plus de vous. Guillaume, tu m’as montré le chemin, et ça y est, j’y suis! Fier de ta frangine ? vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... xii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... xv LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................. xvi CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 1 1.1. Setting the scene: Recovery process, and post-disaster challenges ............... 1 1.2. Aims of the research ....................................................................................... 6 1.3. Structure of the thesis ..................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO – UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESSES OF RECOVERY: THE ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................... 10 2.1. Philosophical paradigm .................................................................................. 10 2.2. Conceptual framework ................................................................................... 14 2.2.1. What are disasters? .................................................................................... 14 2.2.2. Vulnerability to natural hazards ................................................................ 16 2.2.2.1. Social dimension of disaster............................................................. 16 2.2.2.2. Marginalization: immigrants in disasters ......................................... 21 2.2.3. Post-disaster recovery ................................................................................ 23 2.2.3.1. Recovery: a window of opportunity for change ............................... 28 2.2.3.2. Resilience and adaptation ................................................................. 31 2.2.3.3. The difficulty of measuring recovery ............................................... 37 2.2.4. Implementation of sustainable recovery ...................................................