Latest news with #MaykaTejada
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Residents forced to flee from 'disappearing island' due to heartbreaking crisis: 'There were no more friends, no more kids playing'
Rising sea levels are splitting communities apart in Gardí Sugdub and leaving people behind, possibly in danger. Gardí Sugdub, a small island off the coast of Panama, has been dubbed "the Americas' disappearing island" by the BBC as rising sea levels are swallowing up the land. One year ago, around 1,200 Indigenous Guna people were transported to the mainland by the Panama government for their safety as ocean waters encroached upon their community. New early-June reporting from Agence France-Presse has illustrated the human impacts of this displacement through the voices of island residents who have decided so far to stay behind. Delfino Davies, the owner of a small museum on Gardí Sugdub, told the AFP, "There were no more friends, no more kids playing — the place fell quiet like a dead island." Mayka Tejada said, "No one's here. Sometimes I feel sad when I'm alone," Scientists and advocates say the group of islands known as the Guna Yala archipelago, of which Gardí Sugdub is a part, could vanish by the end of this century. Some residents, though, are still choosing to stay. A local in her 60s, Luciana Pérez told the news agency, "I was born in Gardí and I will die here." Since 1880, global average sea level has increased by 8-9 inches, with the rate accelerating over the last few decades, according to the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Our reliance on burning dirty energy sources — such as oil, coal, and gas — means the production of huge quantities of heat-trapping gases that dramatically warm the planet and melt ice caps. The melting of these ice stores, in turn, drives sea level rise. Though freak weather events like floods and tsunamis have always existed, the scientific consensus is that human actions are heating the Earth in life-altering ways, contributing to more extreme and more frequent weather events. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. These events are bad for the planet as a whole, but, so far, they are having some of the most devastating effects on coastal communities. As sea levels continue to rise, driving destructive floods and powerful storm surges, more and more people who live near the ocean will be forced further inland. Historically marginalized communities, including Indigenous groups and residents of low- and middle-income countries, are currently facing disproportionate impacts of displacement. As time goes on, even more will face those impacts if global coordination among world leaders and other stakeholders does not sufficiently mitigate climate disaster. The AFP described the efforts to move residents of Gardí Sugdub to the mainland as "one of Latin America's first planned climate change-related migrations." The Panamanian government built 300 houses to accommodate the newcomers. This shows that governments can play a part in protecting people impacted by rising sea levels and other extreme weather events. To prevent more ice caps and glaciers from melting, governments and stakeholders must come together to meaningfully address the planet's overheating, choosing sustainability over profit on a systemic level. From reducing the use of fossil fuels and conserving forests so trees can capture harmful carbon pollution to creating more eco-friendly agricultural systems, serious structural changes will be required to mitigate the sea level rise that is reshaping life on Earth. Executive director of COP30, Ana Toni, told the AFP, "Moving people from an island to somewhere else shows the reality the planet must now face." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Star
17-06-2025
- General
- The Star
'No children left playing': Silence fills Panama island threatened by the sea
Streets once filled with children's laughter have fallen silent on a Panamanian island where almost all residents left a year ago due to the threat of the sea swallowing their homes. The evacuation of around 1,200 members of the Indigenous Guna community to a new life on the mainland was one of the first planned migrations in Latin America due to climate change. The exodus from Gardi Sugdub in the Caribbean left those who remained with a sense of sadness, said Delfino Davies, who has a small museum on the island with spears, jars and animal bones. 'There are no friends left or children playing,' he said. Gardi Sugdub now has the silence of a 'dead island', he said. Dusty desks and empty classrooms are all that remain of a school that once bustled with children. Many of the island's wooden houses are padlocked. An aerial view of Isber Yala, a new neighbourhood on the mainland. 'There's no one here. Sometimes I get sad when I'm here alone,' Mayka Tejada, 47, said in the small store where she sells bananas, pumpkins, clothes, toys and notebooks. Like Davies and about 100 others, she decided to stay. But her mother and two children, aged 16 and 22, moved to one of the 300 houses built by the Panamanian government in a new neighbourhood called Isber Yala on the mainland, a 15-minute boat ride away. Gardi Sugdub, the size of around five football fields, is one of 49 inhabited islands in the Guna Yala archipelago – also known as San Blas – which scientists warn is in danger of disappearing by the end of the century. Martinez, originally from Gardi, has no regrets moving to Isber Yala. Sitting in a hammock in her earthen-floor house filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs, 62-year-old Luciana Perez said she had no intention of leaving. 'I was born in Gardi and I'll die here. Nothing is sinking. Scientists don't know, only God,' she said. Perez said that she was not afraid because since she was a child she had seen big waves and rising waters flooding houses at times. Steven Paton, a scientist at the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, said climate change meant that sea levels were expected to rise by up to 80cm. 'Most of the Guna Yala islands are about 50cm above sea level,' he said. 'They'll be underwater.' Ana Toni, CEO of the United Nations' COP30 climate conference, said that the mass evacuation 'shows the reality we already have to face on the planet'. One of the remaining houses at Gardi Sugdub island. The arrival of the rainy season has left puddles dotting the dirt roads of Gardi Sugdub. In contrast, in the new settlement of Isber Yala – 'land of loquats' (an orange fruit) in the Guna language – the streets are paved and have sidewalks. The nearly 50sq m concrete houses have flushing toilets and there is a plot of land to grow vegetables. '(On Gardi Sugdub) we lived crowded together, and I had to go fetch water from the river in a small boat,' said Magdalena Martinez, a 75-year-old retired teacher. In Isber Yala, water is available for an hour in the morning, she said. 'I can fill the buckets. And I have electricity 24 hours a day,' said Martinez, who lives with her granddaughter in the new neighbourhood. Tejada's children also have no regrets about leaving the island, she said. 'I miss them, but they're happy there. They have a place to play football and walk around,' Tejada said. Scientists warn that islands in the Guna Yala Archipelago will completely be under water by the end of the century. While the island's school relocated to Isber Yala, its dilapidated clinic remained in Gardi Sugdub. 'Before people came on foot. Now they have to travel by land and sea to get here. There are fewer visitors,' said 46-year-old doctor John Smith. Some of the islanders divide their time between the two communities, while others visit occasionally to check on their homes. This month there will be more activity than normal: seven jars of chicha – a fermented corn drink – are ready for Isber Yala's first anniversary. Martinez is looking forward to the celebration, even though it will be bittersweet. Although she may not see it herself, 'the islands will disappear because the sea will reclaim its territory,' she said. – AFP
Asharq Al-Awsat
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Year after Exodus, Silence Fills Panama Island Threatened by Sea
Streets once filled with children's laughter have fallen silent on a Panamanian island where almost all residents left a year ago due to the threat of the sea swallowing their homes. The evacuation of around 1,200 members of the Indigenous Guna community to a new life on the mainland was one of the first planned migrations in Latin America due to climate change. The exodus from Gardi Sugdub in the Caribbean left those who remained with a sense of sadness, said Delfino Davies, who has a small museum on the island with spears, jars and animal bones. "There are no friends left or children playing," he told AFP. Gardi Sugdub now has the silence of a "dead island," he said. Dusty desks and empty classrooms are all that remain of a school that once bustled with children. Many of the island's wooden houses are padlocked. "There's no one here. Sometimes I get sad when I'm here alone," Mayka Tejada, 47, said in the small store where she sells bananas, pumpkins, clothes, toys and notebooks. Like Davies and about 100 others, she decided to stay. But her mother and two children, aged 16 and 22, moved to one of the 300 houses built by the Panamanian government in a new neighborhood called Isber Yala on the mainland, a 15-minute boat ride away. Gardi Sugdub, the size of around five football fields, is one of 49 inhabited islands in the Guna Yala archipelago -- also known as San Blas -- which scientists warn is in danger of disappearing by the end of the century. 'I'll die here' Sitting in a hammock in her earthen-floor house filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs, 62-year-old Luciana Perez said she had no intention of leaving. "I was born in Gardi and I'll die here. Nothing is sinking. Scientists don't know, only God," she said. Perez said that she was not afraid because since she was a child she had seen big waves and rising waters flooding houses at times. Steven Paton, a scientist at the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, said climate change meant that sea levels were expected to rise by up to 80 centimeters. "Most of the Guna Yala islands are about 50 centimeters above sea level," he told AFP. "They'll be underwater." Ana Toni, CEO of the United Nations' COP30 climate conference, told AFP that the mass evacuation "shows the reality we already have to face on the planet." Sidewalks, water, electricity The arrival of the rainy season has left puddles dotting the dirt roads of Gardi Sugdub. In contrast, in the new settlement of Isber Yala -- "land of loquats" in the Guna language -- the streets are paved and have sidewalks. The nearly 50-square-meter (500-square-feet) concrete houses have flushing toilets and there is a plot of land to grow vegetables. On Gardi Sugdub "we lived crowded together, and I had to go fetch water from the river in a small boat," said Magdalena Martinez, a 75-year-old retired teacher. In Isber Yala, water is available for an hour in the morning, she said. "I can fill the buckets. And I have electricity 24 hours a day," said Martinez, who lives with her granddaughter in the new neighborhood. Tejada's children also have no regrets about leaving the island, she said. "I miss them, but they're happy there. They have a place to play football and walk around," Tejada said. While the island's school relocated to Isber Yala, its dilapidated clinic remained in Gardi Sugdub. "Before, people came on foot. Now, they have to travel by land and sea to get here. There are fewer visitors," said 46-year-old doctor John Smith. Some of the islanders divide their time between the two communities, while others visit occasionally to check on their homes. This week, there will be more activity than normal: seven jars of chicha -- a fermented corn drink -- are ready for Isber Yala's first anniversary. Martinez is looking forward to the celebration, even though it will be bittersweet. Although she may not see it herself, "the islands will disappear because the sea will reclaim its territory," she said.
RTÉ News
03-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- RTÉ News
Year after exodus, silence fills Panama island threatened by sea
Streets once filled with children's laughter have fallen silent on a Panamanian island where almost all residents left a year ago due to the threat of the sea swallowing their homes. The evacuation of around 1,200 members of the Indigenous Guna community to a new life on the mainland was one of the first planned migrations in Latin America due to climate change. The exodus from Gardi Sugdub in the Caribbean left those who remained with a sense of sadness, said Delfino Davies, who has a small museum on the island with spears, jars and animal bones. "There are no friends left or children playing," he said. Gardi Sugdub now has the silence of a "dead island," he said. Dusty desks and empty classrooms are all that remain of a school that once bustled with children. Many of the island's wooden houses are padlocked. "There's no one here. Sometimes I get sad when I'm here alone," Mayka Tejada, 47, said in the small store where she sells bananas, pumpkins, clothes, toys and notebooks. Like Davies and about 100 others, she decided to stay. But her mother and two children, aged 16 and 22, moved to one of the 300 houses built by the Panamanian government in a new neighbourhood called Isber Yala on the mainland, a 15-minute boat ride away. Gardi Sugdub, the size of around five football fields, is one of 49 inhabited islands in the Guna Yala archipelago - also known as San Blas - which scientists warn is in danger of disappearing by the end of the century. 'I'll die here' Sitting in a hammock in her earthen-floor house filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs, 62-year-old Luciana Perez said she had no intention of leaving. "I was born in Gardi and I'll die here. Nothing is sinking. Scientists don't know, only God," she said. Ms Perez said that she was not afraid because since she was a child she had seen big waves and rising waters flooding houses at times. Steven Paton, a scientist at the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, said climate change meant that sea levels were expected to rise by up to 80cm. "Most of the Guna Yala islands are about 50cm above sea level," he said. "They'll be underwater." Ana Toni, CEO of the United Nations' COP30 climate conference, said that the mass evacuation "shows the reality we already have to face on the planet." Footpaths, water, electricity The arrival of the rainy season has left puddles dotting the dirt roads of Gardi Sugdub. In contrast, in the new settlement of Isber Yala - "land of loquats" in the Guna language - the streets are paved and have footpaths. The concrete houses have flushing toilets and there is a plot of land to grow vegetables. On Gardi Sugdub "we lived crowded together, and I had to go fetch water from the river in a small boat," said Magdalena Martinez, a 75-year-old retired teacher. In Isber Yala, water is available for an hour in the morning, she said. "I can fill the buckets. And I have electricity 24 hours a day," said Ms Martinez, who lives with her granddaughter in the new neighbourhood. Ms Tejada's children also have no regrets about leaving the island, she said. "I miss them, but they're happy there. They have a place to play football and walk around," Ms Tejada said. While the island's school relocated to Isber Yala, its dilapidated clinic remained in Gardi Sugdub. "Before, people came on foot. Now, they have to travel by land and sea to get here. There are fewer visitors," said 46-year-old doctor John Smith. Some of the islanders divide their time between the two communities, while others visit occasionally to check on their homes. This week, there will be more activity than normal: seven jars of chicha - a fermented corn drink - are ready for Isber Yala's first anniversary. Ms Martinez is looking forward to the celebration, even though it will be bittersweet. Although she may not see it herself, "the islands will disappear because the sea will reclaim its territory," she said.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Year after exodus, silence fills Panama island threatened by sea
Streets once filled with children's laughter have fallen silent on a Panamanian island where almost all residents left a year ago due to the threat of the sea swallowing their homes. The evacuation of around 1,200 members of the Indigenous Guna community to a new life on the mainland was one of the first planned migrations in Latin America due to climate change. The exodus from Gardi Sugdub in the Caribbean left those who remained with a sense of sadness, said Delfino Davies, who has a small museum on the island with spears, jars and animal bones. "There are no friends left or children playing," he told AFP. Gardi Sugdub now has the silence of a "dead island," he said. Dusty desks and empty classrooms are all that remain of a school that once bustled with children. Many of the island's wooden houses are padlocked. "There's no one here. Sometimes I get sad when I'm here alone," Mayka Tejada, 47, said in the small store where she sells bananas, pumpkins, clothes, toys and notebooks. Like Davies and about 100 others, she decided to stay. But her mother and two children, aged 16 and 22, moved to one of the 300 houses built by the Panamanian government in a new neighborhood called Isber Yala on the mainland, a 15-minute boat ride away. Gardi Sugdub, the size of around five football fields, is one of 49 inhabited islands in the Guna Yala archipelago -- also known as San Blas -- which scientists warn is in danger of disappearing by the end of the century. - 'I'll die here' - Sitting in a hammock in her earthen-floor house filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs, 62-year-old Luciana Perez said she had no intention of leaving. "I was born in Gardi and I'll die here. Nothing is sinking. Scientists don't know, only God," she said. Perez said that she was not afraid because since she was a child she had seen big waves and rising waters flooding houses at times. Steven Paton, a scientist at the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, said climate change meant that sea levels were expected to rise by up to 80 centimeters. "Most of the Guna Yala islands are about 50 centimeters above sea level," he told AFP. "They'll be underwater." Ana Toni, CEO of the United Nations' COP30 climate conference, told AFP that the mass evacuation "shows the reality we already have to face on the planet." - Sidewalks, water, electricity - The arrival of the rainy season has left puddles dotting the dirt roads of Gardi Sugdub. In contrast, in the new settlement of Isber Yala -- "land of loquats" in the Guna language -- the streets are paved and have sidewalks. The nearly 50-square-meter (500-square-feet) concrete houses have flushing toilets and there is a plot of land to grow vegetables. On Gardi Sugdub "we lived crowded together, and I had to go fetch water from the river in a small boat," said Magdalena Martinez, a 75-year-old retired teacher. In Isber Yala, water is available for an hour in the morning, she said. "I can fill the buckets. And I have electricity 24 hours a day," said Martinez, who lives with her granddaughter in the new neighborhood. Tejada's children also have no regrets about leaving the island, she said. "I miss them, but they're happy there. They have a place to play football and walk around," Tejada said. While the island's school relocated to Isber Yala, its dilapidated clinic remained in Gardi Sugdub. "Before, people came on foot. Now, they have to travel by land and sea to get here. There are fewer visitors," said 46-year-old doctor John Smith. Some of the islanders divide their time between the two communities, while others visit occasionally to check on their homes. This week, there will be more activity than normal: seven jars of chicha -- a fermented corn drink -- are ready for Isber Yala's first anniversary. Martinez is looking forward to the celebration, even though it will be bittersweet. Although she may not see it herself, "the islands will disappear because the sea will reclaim its territory," she said. mis/dr/dw/lb
