by Dr Neals J Chitan
For the past 42 years, 1 July — Canada Day celebrations — with its Maple Leaf red and white flag fluttering joyously in the wind has held a special place in my heart as a Canadian citizen.
However, as a Grenadian citizen, that date is now etched in my memory as “Beryl Day” — the anniversary of tragedy and devastation as Beryl’s Category 5 winds swept across northern Grenada, ripping off almost every national flag in her path and leaving us traumatised and emotionally broken.
A few days later, as an experienced Social and Behavioural Interventionist who had responded to several national crisis before, I jumped on board the Osprey Ferry with a Psychosocial Support Team from Ministry of Social and Community Development and headed to the sister isles of Carriacou and Petite Martinique to help mitigate the pain and trauma of the devastation on our people.
Despite my then mild illness and my need to rest, I couldn’t lie down in a dry bed knowing that our northern brothers and sisters had no roofs and no dry bed to lie in. So, with a few personal items tucked in a bag and enduring the anger of the wild Atlantic, we tried to prepare ourselves for the initial impact. But really, we couldn’t imagine the level of devastation we met, sights and sounds that will be etched in our memories forever!
The trauma and distress on the faces of people were incapacitating and folks just sat amidst the rubble totally helpless. With my assignment to Petite Martinique, I headed onward accompanied by a colleague, and the devastation was even worse than I experienced in Carriacou, yet our job was to support the people and that we did.
As I engaged the people in the shelter, I would never forget the experience of a 34-year-old man who came sat very close to me (looking for a father figure I imagine) and put his arm into my arm and with tears in his eyes and voice, said, “Sir, you don’t know what it’s like to go in the sea everyday trying to save money for years to build my own little house. Sir, I just finish it 2 weeks ago and that wicked Beryl just came and mash it up and didn’t leave a pillar for me.”
After engaging and supporting people on the street corners and in the shelters on our first trip, I knew that I had to go back soon, so, I headed back again in July and also decided to spend my birthday on 9 August 2024 with the people in the shelters in Hillsborough and Harvey Vale; giving back instead of expecting.
However, I knew with the coming of the 2025 Hurricane Season, anxiety levels will again peak and the memories, triggers and weather forecast will cause the resurgence of untreated emotional and mental trauma. And so, let me thank the team that accompanied me 19–23 June 2025 on our “Emotional & Mental Empowerment Mission to Carriacou & Petite Martinique 2025” — a series of high impact psychosocial and health check engagements supporting over 500 individuals on street corners, in islandwide sessions, in churches and in homes and even on the ferry. By the way, they have been so impacted that the people engaged have challenged our team to please come back on a regular basis to support them. We hope to engage “Operation RISE AGAIN Carriacou & Petite Martinique” — another 6 bi-monthly high-impact psychosocial sessions, including health education/checks, and invite you to partner with us to offer sustained support to our beloved sister isles.
And so, today on 2 anniversaries, as I wish my home of 42 years Happy Canada Day, I experience a dichotomy of celebration and sadness again as I reminisce on the terror of Beryl and ask: “How can I sing the Lord’s song in a sad land?”
Dr Neals Chitan is an International Social Skill Consultant and Crime Reduction Specialist who holds a PhD in Social and Behavioural Sciences and currently works in Grenada. He is the President/Founder of Motiv-8 For Change International, a Toronto-based Social Skill Agency, and can be reached from North America at 647-692-6330 and locally 473-416-8377 or at [email protected]
