Protest at Grand Fond this morning

sxmbeachlover said:

It saddens me that the full extent of how deadly this pandemic is, is not understood. More people will die needlessly. And yes, I am off topic.

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don't be too sad, even countries cannot agree on the proper distance.

here in st. barths and france, the distance is only 3 feet

usa distance is 6 feet

Right on Izzy!

[FONT=&quot]"A woman in Paris taped a 1-meter sign to her the back of her head to ensure some degree of social distancing while she walked down the street.
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]The sign, which reads, “This is a one-meter hat. Please respect distancing!” in French, doesn’t even fit protocol itself. If truly 1 meter long, it only affords the woman a half-meter of guaranteed space on each side of her head. The World Health Organization recommends people maintain at least 1 meter (about 3 feet) of distance between each other to avoid spreading coronavirus, while the Centers for Disease Control suggests 6 feet of separation."
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New hat idea for St Barths? Don't think it would stay on my head long at Le Select.



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I'm struggling to understand why you would not give people the courtesy and compassion of 6 feet. 6 feet (yes in the US) is based on the scientific community, and of course could change as new data becomes available. Wouldn't you rather be wrong and survive and help those you come into contact survive? Do you know something the rest of us don't? If so, please elaborate. By saying elaborate, I mean defend your position with facts.

Dennis said:

No masks?

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And right on top of each other. We remain our own worst enemy

While the protest might have been called for good reasons (or not, I don't know, I am not familiar with the topic, therefore I will refrain from commenting), it was, unfortunately, poorly timed or let's say poorly organized, in total contradiction with the current sanitary rules that the rest of the world is trying to follow:

> no social distancing
> no face masks
> fairly large gathering of people

All this with a lot of public/media coverage.

Indeed, if that's the general consensus on how to fight the pandemic, St. Barth is not ready for the GRAND opening.

islander said:

While the protest might have been called for good reasons (or not, I don't know, I am not familiar with the topic, therefore I will refrain from commenting), it was, unfortunately, poorly timed or let's say poorly organized, in total contradiction with the current sanitary rules that the rest of the world is trying to follow:

> no social distancing
> no face masks
> fairly large gathering of people

All this with a lot of public/media coverage.

Indeed, if that's the general consensus on how to fight the pandemic, St. Barth is not ready for the GRAND opening.

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There is basically no social distancing happening in St Barth right now unless you enforce it in your own home. Some restaurants removed some tables but people are dining with folks they did not "confine" with and there is no extra distance between the chairs. Very few people are wearing masks anyplace at this point. This morning I was at the vet, the para-pharmacy, the bakery, and the supermarket in Lorient and I think the only mask I saw was on the cashier at U Express... go figure!

Perhaps is it because SBH did not see death close enough? With just a few minor cases, the local population did not experience the real harm that the virus can make. Let's just ask the New Yorkers what they think of it, or the families in the mainland (28,000 deaths in France so far).

There is a word that the French authorities like to use since the outbreak: “civisme”, in the sense of “active interest in public welfare” or “the good of the community”. Basically, a call to the general population to respect each other by applying simple protection features such as social distancing, face masks, sanitizers, …

When there is no fear, “civisme” is the only chance to see people acting responsibly. We are just discussing basic respect here. Nothing else.

As the song says:

Plus rien de me surprend sur la nature humaine !

(“Déjeuner en Paix” by Swiss artist Stephan Eicher).

islander said:

Perhaps is it because SBH did not see death close enough? With just a few minor cases, the local population did not experience the real harm that the virus can make. Let's just ask the New Yorkers what they think of it, or the families in the mainland (28,000 deaths in France so far).

There is a word that the French authorities like to use since the outbreak: “civisme”, in the sense of “active interest in public welfare” or “the good of the community”. Basically, a call to the general population to respect each other by applying simple protection features such as social distancing, face masks, sanitizers, …

When there is no fear, “civisme” is the only chance to see people acting responsibly. We are just discussing basic respect here. Nothing else.

As the song says:

Plus rien de me surprend sur la nature humaine !

(“Déjeuner en Paix” by Swiss artist Stephan Eicher).

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we are not stupid, we are well aware of the death toll around the world, but as you well know les gestes barrières, easier said than done... as shown here in this little video and it will be interesting to see what happens when restaurants reopen in France:

didier said:

I prefer the gov not guess with my life, if they are not absolutely sure, then I think I can make my own decisions.

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I'm all for smart guessing. The very foundation of science is based on educated guesses from limited evidence. If not for "guessing" or hypothesis in scientific parlance, mankind would not learn, advance, evolve...

elgreaux said:

we are not stupid,

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Nobody said that you were stupid. But the self-isolation of 10,000 souls living together on an island with closed borders and no case of COVID-19 might give a false sentiment of immunity. Protests on the street, no social distancing, no masks…. are signs that people might think this virus is not dangerous to them or their elderlies.

This is very different in areas where the virus hit hard. People do all the “gestes barrières” that they can and beyond (“Fear reaction”).

The nonchalant approach to this pandemic simply does not work.

Should the island re-open the borders (and my prediction is that it will happen very soon), the local population must learn on how to act responsibly. It is for their own protection, especially those in the high-risk categories.

Just by looking at the reactions of some posters here, it seems to me that some people are currently concerned when they see these pictures. It would probably re-assure visitors to see that all measures are taken locally to fight the virus. People adopting the correct behavior individually and businesses getting ready for the opening (spacing of tables in restaurants, sanitizing public places, especially hotel rooms, villas, rental cars…).

This is also part of the solution to get the island back on its feet and avoid an economic disaster.

I had the virus, ended up in the hospital, tested positive for antibodies and yet I wear a mask in public places....

Some people on the forum obviously are not concerned with economic disaster, as long as it does not affect them. Risk vs. Reward, depends which side of the fence you are on. I tend to side with islander.

NE

LE CHANTIER DES MURETS DE GRAND FOND VA REPRENDRE


par Valentine Autruffe
22/05/2020

Malgré la manifestation de vendredi dernier, le chantier de la route et des murets de Grand Fond va reprendre tel qu’il était prévu au départ. La Direction des affaires culturelles donnera un avis plus général sur la question des murs en pierres sèches de Saint-Barth. Par ailleurs Bruno Magras a déposé plainte contre Hélène Bernier. Et il prévient qu’en cas de nouvelle manifestation, il fera de même contre chacun des participants. Le conseil territorial s’annonce électrique ce soir. Le président de la Collectivité a mal digéré la manifestation de vendredi dernier sur les murets de Grand Fond, et surtout la décision de la préfète de suspendre le chantier. Il annonce qu’il compte déposer plainte contre Hélène Bernier pour l’organisation d’une manifestation illégale et pour entrave à la liberté du travail. La préfète avait fait suspendre le chantier seulement oralement, et n’a pris aucun arrêté en ce sens. Cela signifie que la Collectivité peut tout à fait, juridiquement, poursuivre les travaux. A priori, elle comptait surtout mettre un terme à ce rassemblement de plus de dix personnes sur la voie publique, chose interdite en pleine crise sanitaire, sans parler de la distanciation sociale un peu tombée aux oubliettes. Toutefois, la Direction des affaires culturelles a bien été saisie sur la question des murets. Elle a indiqué que rien ne s'opposait à la reprise du chantier, qui n'est donc pas assujettie à son avis. Les experts de la Dac viendront bien étudier la question des murets de Saint-Barthélemy. Cela commence par un recensement, une étude, et l’élaboration d’un plan de préservation à plus long terme de ces ouvrages dans le secteur de Grand Fond. Bruno Magras informe qu’il est y favorable. Ce vendredi matin, le chantier est toujours tel qu’il a été stoppé la semaine dernière. Les manifestants vont-ils revenir empêcher l’entreprise de procéder aux travaux ? Le Président de la Collectivité fait montre de fermeté : « Il n'est pas exclu que les fauteurs de trouble reviennent à la charge. Si tel devait être le cas, de nouvelles plaintes seront déposées contre chaque participant individuellement. »Hélène Bernier précise que la mobilisation de vendredi 15 mai n’était pas contre la réfection des réseaux et de la voirie mais ne concernait que les murets. Une nouvelle manifestation ne semble pas à l’ordre du jour. « Une partie des murets sera sans doute refaite comme le veut le Président Magras, c’est-à-dire avec un cœur en béton et des roches collées dessus », écrit Hélène Bernier. « Mon cœurest en peine. Je ne peux pas me résoudre à voir disparaître ces murets. Mais au-delà de cela, je ne comprends pas. Je ne comprends pas qu’on puisse faire autrement que restaurer les murets. Qu’on veuille construire un parking en béton sur cette magnifique côte sauvage. Je ne comprends pas qu’on veuille sacrifier nos paysages idylliques, notre patrimoine touristique qui participent très activement à la réussite économique de notre île. »

Work to restart as originally designed.
Le Shérif files legal complaint against Ms Bernier on various fronts and threatens same to individual participants in case of new obstruction of work and assembly not in keeping with current restrictions due to CV.