A Cheap Dollar and A Glass of Rum!

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ome Gros Islet residents once told this reporter about an act of patriotism that occurred some 60 ago. A group of young picnickers en route to Cas-en-Bas beach found themselves confronted by a no-trespassing sign. They walked back to Gros Islet, some with tears in their eyes because they had lost their favourite picnic spot.

When it comes to Vice on the beach it seems, if only this once, the ayes can’t have it!

Their parents and other villagers were not as accepting of what they considered a gross insult to the Saint Lucia Constitution. Within minutes of hearing the bad news, scores of residents headed to Cas-en-Bas and removed the offending impediment to the beach. On their return to Gros Islet, they informed their kids that the way was now clear and they were free to proceed with their planned picnic. “As far as we were concerned, the beach had never been private property and no white man would prevent us from making full use of it. We pulled down his fence and his sign and never heard from him.”

On Monday, Verve St. Lucia announced that after three years of promoting the popular Vice beach party they had decided to call it a day. It is unclear whether this was because some angry, hardcore, local environmentalists had let their feelings be known.

A well-known individual who requested anonymity on this occasion admitted he loved a good time, as do most Saint Lucians, but he was not about to encourage further attacks on the environment “for a cheap dollar and a glass of rum”. He said Cas-en-Bas beach has long been a nesting site for leatherback turtles, and he could not believe his eyes as he “witnessed people digging out heaps of sand from the beach with a backhoe”.

He claimed that on the morning immediately following last weekend’s beach party the beach was excessively littered with plastic straws that have proven “most damaging to marine life”. He was also quite disappointed that the National Conservation Authority and the Department of Fisheries had approved last Saturday’s Vice promotion, especially right after World Oceans Day on June 8.

Ironically, on World Oceans Day, Verve St. Lucia had posted on its Instagram page the following: “VERVE joins the rest of the world in celebrating World Oceans Day… As we look to open our summer with our event VICE, we encourage all to practice proper disposal habits, take full advantage of our free disposable cups and take full advantage in protecting what Mother Nature has blessed us with.”

The National Conservation Authority’s mission statement: “To identify, manage, conserve and generally provide stewardship over natural assets including beaches, coastal, protected and other declared or designated areas, in a sustainable manner and to provide ancillary amenities thereby contributing to the social and economic development of Saint Lucia.”

When contacted for comment the NCA’s general manager, Jacintha Annius Lee, could think of just one beach where mass crowd events would not be permitted. And the reason had nothing to do with the environment.

“We don’t allow events at Choc Beach,” she said, “because of how close it is to the highway, and there is no parking.” In any case, she added, organisers would first have to seek approval from other entities, by which she meant the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, NEMO and the Saint Lucia Fire Service.

Additionally: “There is a community service manager that visits the site before, after and sometimes even during the event to ensure everything is fine.”

As for the garbage left behind, Lee said: “One of the things agreed to when the approval is given is that the place has to be cleaned. There’s a refundable deposit if the place is cleaned to our satisfaction.”

As for the leatherbacks, Lee admitted: “We know the turtles will not be able to nest this season since they cannot get through the dried Sargassum seaweed. But we plan to clean the shore.”

For the purposes of this article, Cas-en-Bas beach vendors confirmed cleaners were at work the day after Vice, from 7 a.m.