Forgotten World (227): Montserrat
Montserrat is a self-governing British colony, an island in the Caribbean with a mere 4,500 citizens. In 1997 a major eruption devastated the southern part of the island and buried the capital, Plymouth. Agricultural land was destroyed, villages were flattened, and 19 people were killed.
The crisis prompted more than half of the island’s population to leave; those who stayed were evacuated to the north. The restless volcano has prevented their return. Britain offered temporary, and later permanent, residence to all Montserratians. Others left for New York, or for other Caribbean islands including Antigua.
Montserratians living in the US have had their “temporary protected status” revoked and many may have to leave. With volcanic activity in their homeland unlikely to cease, the US Department of Homeland Security no longer considered their situation to be temporary.