By I. Hansana, Jadetimes News
Alberto Lopez starts his day with water lapping at his ankles as he prepares breakfast in his flooded home on the Panama island of Carti Sugtupu. This recurring flooding is a result of rising sea levels due to global warming, which now necessitates the relocation of Lopez and 1,200 other Indigenous residents to the mainland.
The relocation marks the first instance of a community in Panama being displaced by climate change. Since Monday, residents have been moving their belongings by boat to Nuevo Carti, a settlement constructed by the government in the Guna Yala Indigenous region on Panama's Caribbean coast.
Lopez's current home on the island is small and rudimentary, with a dirt floor, no toilet, and intermittent electricity. In contrast, Nuevo Carti offers significantly better living conditions, including houses with two bedrooms, a living and dining room, kitchen, bathroom, laundry, potable water, and electricity. Each house covers 41 square meters and sits on a 300 square meter plot, with communal cultural spaces and facilities for disabled residents.
Despite the improved living conditions, the community harbors mixed feelings about the move. Lopez, who has lived on Carti Sugtupu for 72 years, expressed sadness at leaving the island, which holds deep cultural and personal significance for him. His family has lived and died on the island, and although he acknowledges the necessity of the move, he feels a sense of loss.
Carti Sugtupu, roughly the size of five football fields, is characterized by overcrowded living conditions and limited basic services. The islanders rely on communal toilets, fishing, agriculture, traditional textile production, and some tourism for their livelihood. The government projects that by 2050, Carti Sugtupu and several other islands in the archipelago will be completely submerged due to rising sea levels.
Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo has indicated that the government is assessing other communities that may need to be relocated in the future. On the first day of the mass transfer, police assisted residents in moving their belongings to Nuevo Carti. Furniture, clothes, and other possessions were loaded onto boats for the short trip to the mainland.
Idelicia Avila, another resident, expressed sadness at leaving her home but acknowledged the lack of space on the island. Nuevo Carti, built at a cost of $12.2 million, has been transferred to the community's ownership.
Lopez plans to live in house number 256 with his three sisters and daughter. He envisions growing crops like pumpkins, cassava, pineapples, and bananas to sell, and is already considering how to arrange furniture and possibly extend the new house. Despite the improved conditions, he acknowledges the significant and challenging transition the community is undergoing.