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#BTEditorial – Allowing squatting sends the wrong message

by Barbados Today
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Owning a piece of the rock and staking an authentic claim to this country has been the dream of most Barbadians.

While the history of plantocracy on the island meant that the majority of working class Barbadians were tenants, that was never to be the end game of those who had their work status tied to the plantations on which their chattel houses were situated.

The aim was to be homeowners firstly and land owners ultimately. We can even go so far as to argue that Barbadians tend to be homeowners and it is the minority who rented houses or apartments. Today, the dynamics are shifting, as young people, who once tended to stay at home into their 30s or even 40s, until they were in a financially stronger position to acquire their own homes, are now choosing to rent apartments as soon as they have steady employment or income source.

There has also been another evolving situation, and that is squatting. It has many dimensions, with the overwhelming causation being poverty. There have been many reported cases of persons who start out as renters and run into financial difficulty meeting all their commitments and decide to take their chances squatting on private property, or on lands of the state.

There is also another fact about squatting in Barbados that is undeniable. Were we to examine the history of most of the longstanding squatter communities across the island, it would be revealed that the majority were originally inhabited by persons from other Caribbean islands. Many of them have had children in Barbados who are Barbadian citizens.

One of the most well-known squatter communities in Barbados is located at Rock Hall, St Philip on an abandoned landfill, and in the flight path for aircraft leaving the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) and thus posing a safety threat for the airport.

This is a hazard that was allowed to fester for many years until it became an emergency for GAIA. In fact, former Director of Civil Aviation Mitchinson Beckles said in 2019 that the area should be cleared sooner rather than later, declaring “it is a prohibited area and people are not supposed to live there”.

Barbadians have been slow to publicly criticize the growing level of lawlessness for fear of being labelled as xenophobic.  However, the facts are the facts. Government has been forced to address the Rock Hall squatter village which is a virtual United Nations settlement with people from all over the world and of several races. The state has moved with much more alacrity than it has on other squatters such as those in The Belle and Bellevue, Station Hill in St Michael.

As a result, Government has faced a tongue-lashing from Barbadians who believe that the state’s efforts to handle the Rock Hall squatters in a humanitarian way by providing new housing for them, was in fact, encouraging others to join in the practice, in hope of having similar favourable treatment at the expense of tax payers.

A review of social media comments to the new housing for squatters reflected a level of resentment that squatters were given a short-cut to home ownership, while most Barbadians who followed the rules, remained on the National Housing Corporation’s (NHC) lists that were tens of thousands of applicants deep.

It was encouraging and reflective of the mood in the country, that Minister of Housing and Land Dwight Sutherland, made it clear that government will not continue to tolerate the practice by CARICOM nationals on the island.

In his contribution to debate in the House of Assembly this week, Sutherland said : “When we address the settlement in Rock Hall (St Philip) . . . we are providing as part of our mandate and our mantra, and living true to our philosophy, as a government that cares about people and will provide affordable and resilient housing. That is what we are doing. We are not seeing colour, class or creed.”

He stated that Government was demolishing the structures built after February 2020 and “will not be assisting” the owners. We praise Mr Sutherland for sending this strong message from Parliament. But we believe it is also time to show the public evidence of the demolitions so that an even stronger message is sent to those who are considering Rock Hall, St Philip or any other part of the country for this activity.

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