Climate Refuge from a Tropical Island – but Luciana Stays
A year ago, almost all the inhabitants of the island of Gardí Sugdub in Panama left, following warnings that their homes would be swallowed up by the sea.
All that remains is silence and a few people.
‘I will die here,’ says 62-year-old Luciana Pérez, who has chosen to stay.
Luciana Pérez has chosen to stay on the island of Gardí Sugdub in Panama, despite being offered evacuation to the mainland.
Once upon a time, the sound of children playing could be heard on the then overpopulated island, where the indigenous Guna people moved over 100 years ago. But a year ago, Gardí Sugdub was evacuated, and 1,200 residents – including many families with children – moved to a new life on the mainland.
The evacuation was one of the first major migrations in Latin America caused by climate change in modern times.
Delfino Davies runs a small museum on the island. He says that the move has left the remaining residents in mourning and that Gardí Sugdub, located just over a kilometre from Panama’s northern coast, is now as quiet as a ‘dead island’. The winding alleys with small wooden and tin houses remain, but the silence is palpable.
‘There are no friends left, no children playing,’ he tells AFP.
Buildings cover the entire Gardí Sugdub. The photo was taken in 2024.
Staying on the island
He is one of around 100 people who have decided to stay on Gardí Sugdub (Crab Island). Among them is 47-year-old Mayka Tejada, who works in a shop on the island.
‘There’s no one here. Sometimes I get sad when I’m here alone,’ she says.
Her mother and two children, aged 16 and 22, have moved to the brand new residential area of Isber Yala on the mainland, a short boat ride away. There, the Panamanian government has built 300 houses in neat rows for people who have been evacuated. But there are not enough homes for everyone, as planning began over ten years ago when the island had fewer inhabitants, reports the BBC.
Mayka Tejada misses her children, but she says they are happy on the mainland.
‘Nothing sinks’
The densely populated island measures approximately 150 metres by 400 metres and is one of 49 inhabited islands in the Guna Yala archipelago, also known as San Blas. According to researchers, the entire archipelago could disappear into the sea by the turn of the next century. Some experts believe it could be uninhabitable as early as 2050.
Luciana Pérez sits in a hammock in her home.
‘I was born on Gardí and I will die here. Nothing is sinking. The researchers don’t know, only God knows,’ she says.
She adds that she is not afraid because she has seen big waves and floods sometimes throughout her life. But according to researcher Steven Paton at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, sea levels are expected to rise by up to 80 centimetres, and most of the islands in Guna Yala are about 50 centimetres above sea level.
‘In the end, it will not be sustainable for the islanders to stay on these islands,’ he tells the BBC.
According to Panama’s canal authority ACP, sea levels are rising by at least five millimetres per year, says Steve Paton, who has been gathering information in Panama for over 30 years. In some circles, he is known as Doctor Doom.rund av sina prognoser för framtiden.
Residents of Gardí Sugdub in their new homes shortly after moving last year.
The same traditions
More and more people around the world are being forced to flee their homes due to climate change triggered by humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels. In many cases, they leave their homes unplanned and end up in overcrowded camps or other types of settlements where infrastructure is inadequate. But for the climate refugees from Gardí Sugdub, the new residential area offers a better standard of living and more space.
However, the new situation represents a major change. Museum director Delfino Davies, who has stayed on the island, believes that the essence of the people, their culture, can still be found there. But those who have moved away are trying to hold on to their traditions.
‘My identity and my culture will not change, only the houses have changed,’ Sayla “Tito” López, leader of the Guna people in Isber Yala, told the BBC in a community building in the newly built area.
‘As long as this meeting house remains, the heritage of the Guna people will endure.’
New homes for the Gunafolket. The photo was taken last year.
Big differences
75-year-old pensioner Magdalena Martínez, who has moved to the newly built Isber Yala, talks about the differences between the island and the mainland.
‘We lived in cramped conditions and I had to fetch water from the river in a small boat,’ she says.
On the island, there are narrow gravel roads with muddy puddles during the rainy season. In the newly built area of Isber Yala on the mainland, the roads are paved and have pavements. The concrete houses, which are almost 50 square metres in size, have flush toilets, and there are plots of land with space to grow vegetables.
Water is available for one hour every morning.
‘I can fill the buckets, and I have electricity around the clock,’ says Magdalena Martínez.
She realises that she may not live to see it, but she can imagine what the future holds for her home island.
“The islands will disappear because the sea will reclaim its territory.
The mountainous country of Panama is located between Costa Rica and Colombia, on the narrow isthmus connecting North America and South America.
The country is therefore very narrow and has long coastlines facing the Pacific Ocean to the south and the Caribbean Sea to the north. The canal between the two oceans divides the country in two and is extremely important for international shipping.
The capital is also called Panama, which is usually clarified as Panama City in English and Ciudad de Panamá in Spanish. The country has over 4.5 million inhabitants.
The indigenous population is estimated to make up just over a tenth of the population. Most Panamanians are of mixed European and indigenous origin.
Source: Landguiden/UI
