Once upon a time, there was a community of happy people in the hills above Christian Town on the island of Saint Crux in the Vertigo Isles. The people liked their little village so much that they called it My Jewel.
And Government looked at the village of My Jewel, and said, "This is good, but we can make it better." And the people of My Jewel said, "Are you certain?" – because life was indeed very good and they did not want to spoil it. And Government said, "We are absolutely certain we will make things better, and who asked you, anyway?"
So, to make things better, Government made a housing project and roads. And the housing and roads made the waters course through the village of My Jewel every time it rained. And the village flooded, and the roads were cut off, and the houses were flooded, and the people were at risk, and the neighboring villages were also affected . . .and the people of My Jewel were scared and angry. . . .
And in 1971, the people went to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and said, "Help!" And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said, "The problem is the housing and roads that Government made. But no big thing; it can be fixed with a few million dollars, and King U.S. has agreed to pay three-quarters." So the people of the village of My Jewel said, "Good." And they waited for Government to fix it.
And they waited . . .
And they waited . . .
And waited . . .
In the meantime, whenever it rained, the village flooded, and the roads were cut off, and the houses were flooded, and the people were at risk, and the neighboring villages were also affected . . .
And after 9 or 10 years (half a generation to the villagers), the people of My Jewel said, "Maybe Government forgot." So the people of My Jewel went to Court, and asked the Judge to remind Government to fix the housing and the roads, to stop the flooding. And in 1981, the Judge said, "Indeed, this is wrong, and Government must make it right. So fix it, Government!"
And the people were content, because the Judge had spoken, and they knew now that Government would fix it. And they waited for Government to fix it.
And they waited . . .
And they waited . . .
And waited . . .
In the meantime, whenever it rained, the village flooded, and the roads were cut off, and the houses were flooded, and the people were at risk, and the neighboring villages were also affected . . .
And after another 17 or 18 years (nearly another generation to the villagers), the people of My Jewel said, "Maybe Government forgot, and maybe the Judge forgot." So the people of My Jewel went to Court again, and asked the Judge to remind Government to fix the housing and the roads, to stop the flooding. And the Judge said, "Indeed, this is wrong, and Government must make it right. So fix it, Government! In 30 days, and I really mean it!"
And that was 18 or 19 months ago, and the people are waiting . . .
And waiting . . .
And waiting . . . for 30 years
In the meantime, whenever it rains, the village floods, and the roads are cut off, and the houses are flooded, and the people are at risk, and the neighboring villages are also affected . . .
And Government went to the people of the village of My Jewel and all of the other villages of Saint Crux and all of the other islands of the Vertigo Islands, and said, "Tell us, now, honestly, what can we do to mitigate the risk of flooding in the Vertigo Isles?"
And the people of all the villages of all the Vertigo Isles were vexed and disgusted and sucked their teeth . . . because the village of My Jewel was not the only place where Government had made things better.
Editor's note: Bruce Potter is the president of Island Resources Foundation, a not-for-profit environmental research and education organization based in the Virgin Islands. IRF is in the process of drafting a Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan for the territory, a plan about 140 pages long. What is presented here, according to Potter, is "a much shorter fairy tale" in which any resemblance to the people of the Virgin Islands or the St. Croix village of Mon Bijou is purely coincidental.
