We stepped over a tremendous root, like a fin rising out of the earth, slicing into the path. Then we made a sharp U-turn beside a fence that marked the property limit. The end of Lynton lands. I wanted to be able to picture him walking around, maybe searching for herbs or insects. The obiá. Rudy gave me another lesson in historical perspective as we made our way back.

At a certain point, I felt worn out by all the details I can’t seem to recall or repeat to myself clearly now. He said he’d send me some books and dissertations and articles, which he referenced as he spoke. I promised to read up.

He told me about the time the Raizals blocked the airport. I paid attention because I remember the event itself, but nothing at all about the actors involved. It was in ’99, a year before the crisis hit us all.

Many of my parents’ clients were leaving the island and their insurance portfolio was shrinking. There were a couple of accidents and my mum and dad were worried. I heard about the sinking of a commercial ship loaded with goods from Miami; the insurance company refused to pay compensation, suspecting that the wreck had been intentional. From that point forward, no other company would insure ships along that route, which was already notorious for cocaine trafficking. I always wondered what all the signs meant in the shop windows: liquidation, total clearance, everything must go.

Lots of Arabs relocated to wherever their families were: Panama, Maicao, some directly to Lebanon. In 2002, there was another mobilisation, which was when the entrance to the Magic Garden – the landfill – got blocked. Juleen’s boyfriend Samuel reminded me of this incident when we met on the beach, and the images flooded back: rubbish bags piling up like the trenches of a plague, cockroaches and enormous rats skittering around the doorways of shops and restaurants. Walking around downtown meant breathing putrid, acidic air. At school, we were instructed to stop taking out the rubbish and started to separate it: to wash bottles, cans, wrappers, plastic bags.