Guadeloupe: residents tired of barricades

“We feel a real weariness of having to adapt to the Covid, to the roadblocks, to everything, all the time and in an emergency. And then we breathe tire smoke all day, which leaves traces everywhere. It’s getting boring, really, ”says a resident of Mare Gaillard, the most touristic town on the island.

Less numerous than at the height of the crisis in November, dams continue to appear without warning on the roads of Guadeloupe, where they block residents for a few hours before being dismantled. Guadeloupe has been shaken for two months by a violent protest once morest the anti-Covid vaccine which has turned into a social crisis. The police on Monday evacuated the picket line of the demonstrators who had blocked the Pointe-à-Pitre University Hospital Center (CHU) for months.

Friday, the “police forces intervened and raised a roadblock at Bouliqui (Abymes)” in Grande Terre, according to a press release from the prefecture, and during the night “the gendarmerie forces intervened to raise a roadblock in Vieux-Habitant »In Basse-Terre.

Few are those who agree to testify

Thursday morning at Mare Gaillard, at the gates of the most touristic town on the island, there were four roadblocks over 150 meters from the National 4. But no demonstrator. The first obstacle was made of branches and plants, a second still smoking with all kinds of materials, a third of sheets and small household appliances. A last one spread out across the width of the road a vintage ceiling light, a microwave, an oven rack and other items sacrificed for the cause.

“They are protesting once morest the vaccine but hey, every day we are blocked”, launches a local resident who refuses to give his name. Behind the dump trucks which have come to clear under the control of the police, dozens of cars have been waiting for sometimes more than an hour. In the neighborhood, few are those who agree to testify: useless “to have problems” say some, while others affirm “to understand the fight”.

A “day of strong mobilization” on January 20

And then there are the obstacles to rescue, slowed down by the dams, while the Covid epidemic is once once more raging on the island, under the pressure of the Omicron variant. The first week of January, more than 13,000 cases of contamination were recorded, according to health authorities. A state of health emergency was declared on January 5.

The collective “in the fight” once morest the vaccine obligation does not intend to release the pressure: its leaders announced Thursday a new “day of strong mobilization” on January 20. The anniversary date of the start of the 2009 riots, which led to a 44-day general strike once morest the high cost of living.