The Stronger Caribbean Together (SCT) network members extend their solidarity and support to John Mussington and Jacklyn Frank as their case against the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority, Development Control Authority, and the Antiguan Attorney General commences at the Privy Council on November 8, 2023. Mussington and Frank represent a larger coalition of Barbudans fighting to resist their displacement in the name of profit by corporate real estate interests and the Antiguan national government who seek to override Barbudans’ constitutional sovereignty.
At the upcoming hearing, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Antigua and Barbuda’s highest legal authority, will determine “whether the Court of Appeal was correct to conclude that the Appellants [Mussington and Frank] did not have standing to pursue judicial review proceedings against a decision to grant a development permit for the construction of a new airport runway.”
To say it plainly, the Judicial Committee will give the last legal word on whether Barbudan citizens should be able to make queries about the decisions by the national Antiguan government.
We eagerly await the judgment of the Judicial Committee and hope that they will decide in favor of the Barbudan Appellants, and remind the Antiguan national government and other Commonwealth governments of the importance of recognizing the sovereignty of others and indigenous people’s right to free, prior, and informed consent on any projects potentially posing a threat to the environments on which they rely for climate mitigation, housing, and recreation.
Since Hurricane Irma hit it in 2017, Barbuda’s disaster recovery has been slow, and the recovery period was used as a pretext to accelerate the development of coastal projects necessitating displacement and the destruction of vital wetlands. The membership of SCT recognizes Barbudans’ ongoing displacement and upheaval as one of several tactics used by those seeking to profit from the impacts of natural hazards. We denounce these events transpiring in Barbuda and every encroachment of disaster capitalism in the Caribbean undermining rights and justice.
Whatever the outcome of the upcoming case, we will remain united with our colleagues and friends in Barbuda as they continue fighting to protect their people, land, and culture. If you’d like to learn more about the case, and Barbudan’s struggle for land sovereignty, visit their site savebarbuda.org, or their Instagram @SaveBarbuda.
August 23, 2023
The Stronger Caribbean Together (SCT) network, a regional solidarity network for food, land and climate justice, consisting of frontline community organizations across the Caribbean, expresses its solidarity with the people of Maui, and specifically those of Lāhainā Town. We mourn the tragedy of over a hundred lives lost and thousands of families devastated by the wildfires that started on August 8, 2023. We recognize that the socio-ecological and local vulnerabilities exposed by the multidimensional fire hazard are expressly connected to the island’s environmentally destructive colonial legacy. And we also recognize that the ongoing trends of disaster capitalism are intimately tied to extractive tourism models and other unsustainable development pathways impacting Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
We seek to amplify the petition by Hawai’i Alliance for Progressive Action calling on “Maui County Council, Maui Mayor Bissen, Hawai‘i State Legislators, and Governor Josh Green to stop land grabs in Lāhainā and commit to a just recovery.” SCT decries the actions of local governments, agencies, and private business interests that seek to use this tragedy to secure profits out of the insecurity and displacement of the indigenous people of Maui who have lost their homes and loved ones and are in imminent danger of losing their heritage.
Like the people of Maui, we have all in the past few decades been faced with instances of controversial and contested displacements by states and private interests in the wake of natural hazards, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. From the archipelagic islands of Colombia to Puerto Rico, Barbuda, and Dominica, we have been at the forefront of the struggle against ruthless efforts to use these hazards as an opportunity to grab land, encroach on territories, and further destabilize the lives of the people most impacted by the natural hazards.
In the case of Barbuda, this was acutely seen in 2017 when Hurricane Irma made landfall on the island nation. Following the mandatory relocation imposed after the hurricane, the Antiguan and Barbudan central government administration restricted Barbudans from visiting and returning home. In the meantime, North American and regional private interests were given the opportunity to start an ongoing land grab in violation of Barbudan communal land laws, basic human rights, and the premises of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. The impetus to similar inimical development activity also occurred in Grenada after Hurricane Ivan in 2004, (with the development of the much-criticized Citizen by Investment (CBI) program there and in other Caribbean islands), in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017, and in the Colombian island of Providencia following hurricane Iota in 2020.
We view what is occurring in Maui as another instance where government and private interests are reported as acting to make a tragic event worse through policy decisions that would ensure the further erosion of people’s ability to recover and maintain the possession of their lands and preserve their cultural heritage and way of life. Once more, climate injustice is driven by the coloniality within human decisions and political actions grounded in exclusionary elite biases.
We, the undersigned, recognize that the power of disaster capitalism to dispossess the people of Maui and other climate fragile territories will not cease until the people unite in opposition to these forces. They must share their experiences, learn from each other, be recognised as core actors in the reconstruction process, and be given adequate financial support according to the international principles of climate justice, loss and damage, and common but differentiated responsibilities.
We stand strong and in solidarity with the Hawai’i Alliance for Progressive Actions so that the groups and individuals addressed in their petition do all that they have to do to meet the needs of Lāhainā’s residents. This is imperative so that they can resume their lives and be given the autonomy and resources to build a resilient community rooted in their own values and interests that will help ensure that such tragedies and unnatural disasters do not re-occur on their lands and destroy their lives and their heritage and culture.
23 out 2023 — Karayib la Pi Fò Ansanm, yon rezo solidarite rejyonal nan zafè lamanjay, tè ak jistis klima, ki gen ladan òganizasyon kominotè ki pi angaje atravè Karayib la, eksprime solidarite li ak moun yo nan Maui, espesyalman sa yo ki nan Lāhainā Town. Nou kriye pou gwo katastwòf kote plis pase 100 moun lavi pèdi yo epi plizyè milye fanmi devaste akoz yon dife sovaj ki te kòmanse 8 out 2023. Nou rekonèt frajilite lokal yo sou plan sosyal ak ekolojik epi ki gen rapò ak risk pou dife pete, yon risk ki genyen plizyè fasèt, se rezilta yon eritaj kolonyal ki kraze anviwònman zile a. Nou rekonèt tou tandans kapitalis katastwòf la jounen jodi a makonnen ak modèl touris ekstraktivis (piyajè) a ak lòt wout pou yon devlopman ki pa dirab ki genyen gwo konsekans sou ti zile ki ap chèche devlope tèt yo.
Nou ap chache ranfòse petisyon Alyans Awayi pou Aksyon Pwogresis la ki mande pou Konsèy depatman Maui, Majistra Maui Bissen, palmantè leta Awayi a ak Gouvènè Josh Green sispann fè dappiyanp sou tè nan Lāhainā epi pou yo pran angajman pou retabli yon sitiyasyon ki chita sou jistis. Karayib la Pi Fò Ansanm denonse aksyon gouvènman lokal yo, ajans yo, ak enterè biznis prive ki ap chache itilize katastwòf sa a pou fè pwofi sou ensekirite ak deplasman pèp endijèn nan Maui ki te pèdi byen yo ak kay yo epi ki genyen pandye sou tèt yo yon risk pou yo pèdi eritaj yo.
Menm jan ak moun ki nan Maui, nou tout te fè fas kare pandan dènye deseni ki sot pase yo ak kèk ka deplasman san lejitimite leta ak enterè prive yo egzèse apre yon katastwòf natirèl, tankou siklòn ak tranblemanntè. Soti nan zile Kolonbi pou rive Pòto RiKo, Babad ak Ladominik, nou te devan nan lit kont efò san fwa ni lwa yo ap fè pou sèvi ak katastwòf sa yo kòm yon opòtinite pou fè dappiyanp sou tè, okipe teritwa epi destabilize pi plis toujou lavi moun ki plis afekte nan katastwòf natirèl sa yo.
Nan ka Babad, sitiyasyon an te anvlimen nan lane 2017 lè Siklòn Irma te frape zile a. Apre deplasman obligatwa ki te genyen apre siklòn nan, administrasyon santral Antigwa ak Babad te limite vizit yo ak deplasman pou sitwayen yo retounen lakay yo. Nan sitiyasyon sa a, enterè prive nan peyi Etazini ak nan rejyon yo te jwenn okazyon pou yo kòmanse yon pwosesis dappiyanp sou tè yon fason ki depaman ak lwa kominal sou tè nan Babad, ki depaman ak dwa moun fondamantal yo epi ki depaman ak estrateji pou diminye dezòd klimatik yo epi adapte nou ak yo. Aktivite devlopman sanginè konsa te pran vitès nan peyi Grenad apre Siklòn Ivan nan lane 2004 (avèk pwogram anpil moun te kritike ki rele Sitwayen atravè Envestisman – CBI an anglè – nan zile a ak nan lòt zile nan Karayib la). Pwogram sa yo te pran vitès tou nan Pòto Riko apre Siklòn Maria nan 2017 ak nan zile Kolonbyen Providencia apre siklòn Iota nan lane 2020.
Nou konsidere sa ki rive nan Maui a tankou yon lòt egzanp kote gouvènman an ak enterè prive yo ap aji pou anvlimen yon katastwòf avèk desizyon politik ki kontribye nan degrade kapasite moun yo pou yo ta reprann epi kenbe moso tè yo epi konsève eritaj kiltirèl ak mòd lavi yo. Yon fwa ankò, enjistis klimatik la se rezilta desizyon moun ak aksyon politik ki chita sou mantalite kolonyal ak prejije eksklizyon gwoup dominan yo.
Nou rekonèt kapasite kapitalis katastwòf la genyen pou li deposede moun yo nan Maui ak lòt teritwa frajil sou plan klimatik p ap sispann jiskaske tout zile yo ini yo anfòs fòs sa yo. Yo dwe pataje eksperyans yo, aprann youn ak lòt, yo dwe rekonèt yo se aktè fondamantal nan pwosesis rekonstriksyon an epi yo dwe resevwa bon jan sipò finansye dapre prensip entènasyonal yo nan jistis klima, pèt ak domaj, ak responsablite komen men ki diferan.
Nou kanpe fèm ak Alyans Awayi pou Aksyon Pwogresis la yon fason pou gwoup ak moun non yo site nan petisyon an fè tout sa yo yo kapab pou satisfè bezwen moun Lāhainā. Se yon obligasyon pou yo reprann lavi yo epi pou yo jwenn otonomi ak resous nesesè pou yo bati yon kominote rezistan ki baze sou pwòp valè ak enterè yo, sa ki pral ede evite katastwòf sa yo ki pa natirèl repwodui sou moso tè abitan zile yo epi detwi lavi yo, eritaj yo ak kilti yo.
Haitian Creole Translation by Képler Aurélien, Coordinator of Inter-Organizational Exchanges and Systematization at Institut Culturel Karl Lévêque
23 de Agosto 2023—La red Stronger Caribbean Together (SCT), una red regional de solidaridad por la justicia alimentaria, territorial y climática, formada por organizaciones comunitarias de primera línea de todo el Caribe, expresa su solidaridad con el pueblo de Maui, y en concreto con los de Lāhainā Town. Lloramos la tragedia de más de cien vidas perdidas y miles de familias devastadas por los incendios forestales que comenzaron el 8 de agosto de 2023. Reconocemos que las vulnerabilidades socioecológicas y locales expuestas por el riesgo multidimensional de incendios están expresamente relacionadas con el legado colonial de la isla, destructivo para el medio ambiente. Y también reconocemos que las tendencias actuales del capitalismo del desastre están íntimamente ligadas a los modelos de turismo extractivo y a otras vías de desarrollo insostenible que afectan a los Pequeños Estados Insulares en Desarrollo (PEID).
Pretendemos ampliar la petición de la Alianza Hawaiana para la Acción Progresista que pide “al Consejo del Condado de Maui, al alcalde de Maui Bissen, a los legisladores del Estado de Hawai y al gobernador Josh Green que detengan el acaparamiento de tierras en Lāhainā y se comprometan a una recuperación justa”. SCT condena las acciones de los gobiernos locales, las agencias y los intereses empresariales privados que pretenden utilizar esta tragedia para asegurarse beneficios a costa de la inseguridad y el desplazamiento de los indígenas de Maui que han perdido sus hogares y a sus seres queridos y están en peligro inminente de perder su patrimonio.
Al igual que los habitantes de Maui, todos nos hemos enfrentado en las últimas décadas a casos de desplazamientos controvertidos e impugnados por parte de estados e intereses privados a raíz de amenazas naturales, como huracanes y terremotos. Desde las islas archipelágicas de Colombia hasta Puerto Rico, Barbuda y Dominica, hemos estado a la vanguardia de la lucha contra los despiadados intentos de utilizar estos peligros como una oportunidad para acaparar tierras, usurpar territorios y desestabilizar aún más la vida de las personas más afectadas por los peligros naturales.
En el caso de Barbuda, esto se vio claramente en 2017, cuando el huracán Irma tocó tierra en la isla. Tras la reubicación obligatoria impuesta después del huracán, la administración del gobierno central de Antigua y Barbuda restringió a los barbudenses la visita y el regreso a casa. Mientras tanto, los intereses privados norteamericanos y regionales tuvieron la oportunidad de iniciar un acaparamiento de tierras que viola las leyes sobre tierras comunales de Barbados, los derechos humanos básicos y las premisas de las estrategias de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático. El impulso a una actividad de desarrollo hostil similar también se produjo en Granada tras el huracán Iván en 2004, (con el desarrollo del muy criticado programa Ciudadano por Inversión (CBI) allí y en otras islas del Caribe), en Puerto Rico tras el huracán María en 2017, y en la isla colombiana de Providencia tras el huracán Iota en 2020.
Consideramos que lo que está ocurriendo en Maui es otro caso en el que se informa de que el Gobierno y los intereses privados actúan para empeorar un suceso trágico mediante decisiones políticas que garantizarían una mayor erosión de la capacidad de las personas para recuperar y mantener la posesión de sus tierras y preservar su patrimonio cultural y su forma de vida. Una vez más, la injusticia climática se ve impulsada por la colonialidad de las decisiones humanas y las acciones políticas basadas en los prejuicios excluyentes de las élites.
Reconocemos que el poder del capitalismo del desastre para desposeer a la gente de Maui y otros territorios climáticamente frágiles no cesará hasta que la gente se una en oposición a estas fuerzas. Deben compartir sus experiencias, aprender unos de otros, ser reconocidos como actores fundamentales en el proceso de reconstrucción y recibir el apoyo financiero adecuado de acuerdo con los principios internacionales de justicia climática, pérdidas y daños, y responsabilidades comunes pero diferenciadas.
Nos mantenemos firmes y solidarios con la Alianza Hawaiana para las Acciones Progresistas para que los grupos e individuos a los que se dirige su petición hagan todo lo que tengan que hacer para satisfacer las necesidades de los residentes de Lāhainā. Esto es imperativo para que puedan reanudar sus vidas y se les dé la autonomía y los recursos para construir una comunidad resistente arraigada en sus propios valores e intereses que ayude a garantizar que tales tragedias y desastres antinaturales no vuelvan a ocurrir en sus tierras, destruyan sus vidas y su patrimonio y cultura.
Showcasing stories of Caribbean organizations at the foreground of the struggle against disaster capitalism in the Caribbean. Our network of participants in the Greater Caribbean region connect, learn, share their hands on responses to the impacts of the twin threats of the climate crisis and disaster capitalism in our region.
Bernard Lodge Farmers Group
WAVE (Progressive Reform Movement)
Tèt Kole
Global Challenges Research Fund
Open Society Foundations
All Rights Reserved – strongercaribbeantogether.org 2022
All Rights Reserved – strongercaribbeantogether.org 2022
In the tumultuous aftermath of disasters, it is easy to feel isolated and alone, but you are not.
We, a network of Caribbean-wide community organizers who stand in solidarity with those affected the twin threats of the climate crises and disaster capitalism, a phenomenon that exacerbates the suffering of vulnerable communities.
We want you to know that your stories matter. We are here to listen, to support, and to amplify your voices.
We believe that together, we can challenge the forces of disaster capitalism and advocate for more sustainable, inclusive and equitable decision-making.
Join us in solidarity. Share your experiences and let’s build strong communities that thrive together.
As the wider world braces for the climate change, Caribbean communities are already struggling with its effects. Small local communities, small scale farmers and coastal communities are disproportionately affected. Political decisions, power dynamics and laws often compound the catastrophes and silence bottom up solutions.
There are ways in which you can help.
