The Challenge and Response

摘要

From the 1970s to 1995, the 12,000-plus residents of Montserrat enjoyed a high standard of living. "Villa" tourism dominated the island's economy, as seasonal visitors from the U.S. and U.K. would rent or buy winter homes in Montserrat. Then came the eruptions from the Soufriere volcano, which eventually claimed Plymouth and the. surrounding residential neighborhoods in the south, and closed W.H. Bramble Airport on the east coast. More than half of Montserrat's residents left the island in search of jobs and housing elsewhere. "It has been a very challenging situation for us since mid 1995," says Greenaway. "With the crisis, we lost the social and economic fabric of our society."