Hurricane Luis
9-13-1995
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
MARIGOT HILL, St. Maarten (AP) _ Immigrants who fled poverty by moving to this Caribbean tourist haven were left stunned Tuesday by government plans to finish the job Hurricane Luis started by demolishing their shantytowns.
Witom Jerome, a Haitian, was incensed that officials would oust neighbors who had lived here for years.
"The government can't just say, `We're coming in' like that," he shouted. "We have a right to stay here."
The official death toll from Hurricane Luis, which hit this island shared by the Netherlands Antilles and France on Sept. 5, was five on the Dutch side and one on the French. Dutch troops using search dogs found no additional bodies in the debris, said Dutch Maj. Jaap Dykstra.
Divers searching 200 sunken boats in Simpson's Bay Lagoon found no more bodies Tuesday, officials said. One body was retrieved on Saturday, according to U.S. Consul General Buddy Williams.
Other Caribbean islands reported six deaths _ two each in Antigua and Puerto Rico and one each in Dominica and Guadeloupe. In St. Maarten, 80 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed.
While the northern islands of the eastern Caribbean recovered from Luis, the southern islands were put on alert for Marilyn, a fast-moving tropical storm that formed Tuesday and was expected to strengthen.
Tropical storm warnings were posted for Barbados, and watches were in effect for St. Vincent, St. Lucia, the Grenadines and Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago. Forecasters said dangerous winds could arrive by Wednesday afternoon.
On St. Maarten, the Dutch military rejected a request by Lt. Gov. Dennis Richardson for Dutch troops to help level the shantytowns and place the immigrants, many of them illegal aliens, into tent camps.
Dutch forces, who arrived on St. Maarten after the storm to halt looting and restore order, were building three tent camps to house as many as 7,000 refugees. But they wanted no role in what is seen by many as a plan to expel illegal aliens en masse.
"The military are not there for enforced clearing of shantytowns or the removal of illegals," Prime Minister Wim Kok told the Dutch parliament Tuesday.
Richardson denied his locally elected government would deport illegal immigrants who work in the island's hotels and restaurants and perform other menial labor.
"Anyone who wants to leave has to do it of their own free will," said Richardson. On Monday, leaders of the Dominican community called a meeting to tell their people the government would deport those who lacked working papers or a job.
Richardson said plans to clear away the damaged shantytowns _ which he said posed the threat of epidemics _ would proceed. The government plans to build low-income housing to rent to former residents, he said.
"We want them to be integrated into this community in a normal manner," he said.
Any foreign workers wanting to return home _ most from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Dominica _ would be sent back for free, Richardson said.
Fortuna John Joseph, a Haitian, was on the corrugated tin roof of his shack, using a tape measure and repairing storm damage, when a reporter told him about plans to sweep away his neighborhood, Marigot Hill.
Joseph, a cleaner at the Don Beach Resort, reacted with disbelief.
"What will I do with my refrigerator, and my bed?" he asked. "How will I put them into my tent?"
A crowd of residents gathered, shocked.
"When are they going to mash it down?" asked Fevre Anes, holding the hammer he had been using to repair his house. "They have to give us a date so we can plan to get our things out of here."
Two of the tent camps will be for illegal residents, the third for legal residents. Government officials say there are up to 7,000 illegal aliens but the Dutch Red Cross estimates upwards of 15,000.
Despite the official death toll, many islanders believe that more bodies have been found.
One looter who refused orders to stop was shot and wounded last week by a Dutch marine, Dykstra said. In another incident, marines fired into the air to stop looting, he said.
With most tourists gone, islanders concentrated on recovering. Banks and several restaurants reopened Tuesday. Crews cleared uprooted palm trees, utility poles and other debris from roads, and lines at gas stations virtually disappeared.
Crown Prince Willem Alexander, heir to the Dutch throne, was to survey the storm damage on Wednesday.
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
MARIGOT HILL, St. Maarten (AP) _ Immigrants who fled poverty by moving to this Caribbean tourist haven were left stunned Tuesday by government plans to finish the job Hurricane Luis started by demolishing their shantytowns.
Witom Jerome, a Haitian, was incensed that officials would oust neighbors who had lived here for years.
"The government can't just say, `We're coming in' like that," he shouted. "We have a right to stay here."
The official death toll from Hurricane Luis, which hit this island shared by the Netherlands Antilles and France on Sept. 5, was five on the Dutch side and one on the French. Dutch troops using search dogs found no additional bodies in the debris, said Dutch Maj. Jaap Dykstra.
Divers searching 200 sunken boats in Simpson's Bay Lagoon found no more bodies Tuesday, officials said. One body was retrieved on Saturday, according to U.S. Consul General Buddy Williams.
Other Caribbean islands reported six deaths _ two each in Antigua and Puerto Rico and one each in Dominica and Guadeloupe. In St. Maarten, 80 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed.
While the northern islands of the eastern Caribbean recovered from Luis, the southern islands were put on alert for Marilyn, a fast-moving tropical storm that formed Tuesday and was expected to strengthen.
Tropical storm warnings were posted for Barbados, and watches were in effect for St. Vincent, St. Lucia, the Grenadines and Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago. Forecasters said dangerous winds could arrive by Wednesday afternoon.
On St. Maarten, the Dutch military rejected a request by Lt. Gov. Dennis Richardson for Dutch troops to help level the shantytowns and place the immigrants, many of them illegal aliens, into tent camps.
Dutch forces, who arrived on St. Maarten after the storm to halt looting and restore order, were building three tent camps to house as many as 7,000 refugees. But they wanted no role in what is seen by many as a plan to expel illegal aliens en masse.
"The military are not there for enforced clearing of shantytowns or the removal of illegals," Prime Minister Wim Kok told the Dutch parliament Tuesday.
Richardson denied his locally elected government would deport illegal immigrants who work in the island's hotels and restaurants and perform other menial labor.
"Anyone who wants to leave has to do it of their own free will," said Richardson. On Monday, leaders of the Dominican community called a meeting to tell their people the government would deport those who lacked working papers or a job.
Richardson said plans to clear away the damaged shantytowns _ which he said posed the threat of epidemics _ would proceed. The government plans to build low-income housing to rent to former residents, he said.
"We want them to be integrated into this community in a normal manner," he said.
Any foreign workers wanting to return home _ most from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Dominica _ would be sent back for free, Richardson said.
Fortuna John Joseph, a Haitian, was on the corrugated tin roof of his shack, using a tape measure and repairing storm damage, when a reporter told him about plans to sweep away his neighborhood, Marigot Hill.
Joseph, a cleaner at the Don Beach Resort, reacted with disbelief.
"What will I do with my refrigerator, and my bed?" he asked. "How will I put them into my tent?"
A crowd of residents gathered, shocked.
"When are they going to mash it down?" asked Fevre Anes, holding the hammer he had been using to repair his house. "They have to give us a date so we can plan to get our things out of here."
Two of the tent camps will be for illegal residents, the third for legal residents. Government officials say there are up to 7,000 illegal aliens but the Dutch Red Cross estimates upwards of 15,000.
Despite the official death toll, many islanders believe that more bodies have been found.
One looter who refused orders to stop was shot and wounded last week by a Dutch marine, Dykstra said. In another incident, marines fired into the air to stop looting, he said.
With most tourists gone, islanders concentrated on recovering. Banks and several restaurants reopened Tuesday. Crews cleared uprooted palm trees, utility poles and other debris from roads, and lines at gas stations virtually disappeared.
Crown Prince Willem Alexander, heir to the Dutch throne, was to survey the storm damage on Wednesday.
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