Indigenous groups flee from drowning island

“If the island sinks, I will sink,” said Delfino Davies, whose smile will not fade away.

There is also silence, except that he swept the broom on the floor of the small museum, documenting his community life in Panama.

“In the past, you could hear kids shouting…there were music everywhere, neighbors were arguing, but now all the sounds were gone.”

His community lives on the tiny, low-lying island of Gardi Sugdub, and was the first community in Panama to relocate due to climate change.

The government said they face “imminent risks” of rising sea levels, and scientists say that by 2050, this could make the island uninhabitable.

Last June, most residents abandoned the narrow wooden and tin can house for a row of neat prefabricated houses on the mainland.

Relocated people are praised by some as models of threats to others around the world, but even so, the community is divided.

“My father, my brother, my son and friends are gone,” Delphino said. “Sometimes, the family keeps crying children and want to know where their friends are going.

The house behind the house is padlocked. About 1,000 people stayed, while about 100 remained – some because there was not enough space in the new settlement. Others, like Delfino, don’t completely believe that climate change is a threat or don’t want to leave at all.

He said he wanted to get close to the ocean where he could fish. He added: “People who have lost their traditions have lost their souls. The nature of our culture is on the island.”

Guna has lived on Gardi Sugdub since the 19th century and even lives on other islands in the archipelago near the northern coast of Panama. They fled from the mainland, fled from the Spanish conquerors, and later clashed with other indigenous groups.

They are famous for clothes called “Molas” and are decorated with colorful designs.

Guna currently lives on more than 40 other islands. “It’s almost certainly true” that most islands, if not all, will be flooded by the end of the century,” said Steve Paton, a scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Institute in Panama.

As climate change causes the Earth to heat up, sea levels are rising as glaciers and ice sheets melt and sea water warms.

Scientists warn that by the end of this century, hundreds of millions of people living in coastal areas around the world may be at risk.

On Gardi Sugdub, whip the waves into houses during the rainy season and cover them on the hammock where the family sleeps.

“Based on the current and projected sea level rise rate, it is impossible for the island to live in 2050 by 2050,” Mr Parton said.

But the first discussion about relocation began more than a decade ago due to population growth rather than climate change.

The length of the island is only 400m and 150m wide. Some residents believe that overcrowding is a more pressing issue. But others, such as Magdalena Martínez, are worried about the rising sea:

“Every year, we see the tides higher,” she said. “We can’t cook on the stove and we’re always overwhelmed…so we say ‘we have to get out of here’.”

Magdalena, the man who climbed a motorboat and wooden canoe in June last year, was sent to a new home.

“I just bring clothes and some kitchen utensils,” she said. “You feel like you’re leaving your life on the island.”

The new community of Isberyala is – weather allowed – a 15-minute boat ride, then a five-minute drive from Gardi Sugdub. But it feels like another world.

Same white and yellow house lines asphalt road.

Magdalena shows off her eyes as she shows off her “little house” living with her 14-year-old granddaughter Bianca and her dog.

There is a small portion of land behind each house – there is no luxury on the island. She said excitedly, “I want to grow yucca, tomatoes, bananas, mangoes and pineapple.”

“It’s so sad to leave a place you’ve been in for a long time. You miss your friends, the streets you live in, very close to the sea,” she said.

Isberyala was built by the Panama government for $15 million (£12 million) and provided additional funding from the Inter-American Development Bank.

In its new conference room (with traditional style roofs and leaves), Tito López is Sayla or leader of the community.

“My identity and culture will not change, it’s just that the house has changed,” he said.

He lay in the hammock and explained that as long as the hammock has a place in the Guna culture, “the heart of the Guna people will remain alive.”

When Guna died, they lied in the hammock for a day for family and friends to visit. Then bury it next to them.

In the state-of-the-art new school, students aged 12 and 13 are rehearsing Guna music and dance. Boy in bright shirt playing with pot tubes, girl in moras shaking Maracas.

The island’s narrow schools are now closed, and their families live there every day students travel with computers, sports fields and libraries.

Magdalena said Isberyala was in better condition than the island, saying they only had four hours of electricity a day and had to take a boat from the rivers on the mainland to drink drinking water.

In Isberyala, the power supply is constant, but the water pumped from nearby wells is only turned on for a few hours a day. The system sometimes breaks down for several days.

Also, there is no health care yet. Another resident, Yanisela Vallarino, said that one night her young daughter was unwell and she had to arrange for transport to and from the island late at night.

Panamanian authorities told the BBC that construction of a hospital in Isberala was at a deadlock a decade ago due to lack of funds. But they say they hope to revive the plan this year and evaluate how space will be moved out of the island for the remaining residents.

Yanisela is glad she is now able to attend evening classes at her new school, but she still returns to the island often.

“I’m not used to it yet. I miss my house,” she said.

Community around the world will be “inspired” by the way Gardi Sugdub residents face their situation, said Erica Bower, a researcher with climate displacement at Human Rights Watch.

“We need to learn from these early cases to understand what success looks like,” she said.

When the afternoon arrived, the school’s activities gave way to the shouts and melee of football, basketball and volleyball.

“I prefer the place on this island because we have more room for competition,” said Jason, eight.

Magdalena sat with her granddaughter and taught her to sew Molas.

“It’s hard for her, but I know she will learn. Our unique way is not lost,” Magdalena said.

When asked about her missing the island, she replied: “I wish we were all here.”