Hurricane Luis-Neighborhoods Bulldozed
9-11-1995
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (AP) _ Bulldozers were sent Monday to start tearing down the remains of iron and plywood shantytowns shredded by Hurricane Luis. The government denied it was planning to expel thousands of illegal aliens who inhabited them.
"All buildings or structures in these areas will be leveled to the ground," Lt. Gov. Dennis Richardson said in a radio broadcast.
It wasn't immediately clear when demolition was supposed to begin.
Military divers searched for possible survivors in a graveyard of 200 boats sunk last week.
A total of 12 people were killed in the eastern Caribbean by the 700-mile-wide storm.
Richardson has reported five deaths on the Dutch side of this island, while the French side, St. Martin, has reported one death. The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that an American was among those killed on the Dutch side, but no identification was released.
Other Caribbean islands reported six deaths _ two each in Antigua and Puerto Rico, and one each in Dominica and Guadeloupe.
The director of the main hospital, meanwhile, denied reports that the facility held as many as 250 bodies of storm victims. Mac Kibbalaar of St. Maarten Medical Center in Belair said the hospital had only two bodies.
Richardson offered free air passage to illegal aliens who wanted to go home and said those who remained would be housed in a tent camp separate from homeless nationals.
His government denied rumors that it planned to use the hurricane as a excuse to expel unwelcome foreigners _ mainly Haitians and Dominicans _ tolerated in the past because they provided cheap labor for the tourist industry. They were paid as little as $1.20 an hour and could be hired and fired easily.
Richardson said nine shantytowns would be destroyed, including Marigot Hill, where reporters watched Haitians picking through debris Sunday, in search of salvageable sheets of iron, wood and nails to rebuild their shacks.
With months of rebuilding scheduled and no tourists expected, there are fears of an explosive situation.
Islanders have blamed the illegal aliens for the looting that Dutch Marines have been unable to control, while residents of the French side are afraid the foreigners will move to their side of the island.
Eddie Williams, the coordinator of the St. Maarten emergency broadcast service, said the government estimated there were 5,000 to 7,000 illegal aliens in the shantytowns. The Dutch Red Cross, which is responsible for the tent camps, put their number at 15,000 to 20,000.
The Red Cross lodged an official complaint Monday with Richardson, the lieutenant governor, and with the Dutch government, objecting to his plan to have Dutch Marines run the tent camps.
"The illegals are already so afraid of being deported that some already have gone into hiding in the hills. If they even see a soldier, they'll run," said Red Cross spokeswoman Alice Krauss.
Meanwhile, reports said Hurricane Luis destroyed 90 percent of Dominica's banana crop. The Dominica Banana Marketing Corp. said it expects to lose as much as $5.7 million.
Banana exports, the mainstay of this island's economy, were expected to drop from a projected 600 tons a week to about 75 tons, the company said.
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (AP) _ Bulldozers were sent Monday to start tearing down the remains of iron and plywood shantytowns shredded by Hurricane Luis. The government denied it was planning to expel thousands of illegal aliens who inhabited them.
"All buildings or structures in these areas will be leveled to the ground," Lt. Gov. Dennis Richardson said in a radio broadcast.
It wasn't immediately clear when demolition was supposed to begin.
Military divers searched for possible survivors in a graveyard of 200 boats sunk last week.
A total of 12 people were killed in the eastern Caribbean by the 700-mile-wide storm.
Richardson has reported five deaths on the Dutch side of this island, while the French side, St. Martin, has reported one death. The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that an American was among those killed on the Dutch side, but no identification was released.
Other Caribbean islands reported six deaths _ two each in Antigua and Puerto Rico, and one each in Dominica and Guadeloupe.
The director of the main hospital, meanwhile, denied reports that the facility held as many as 250 bodies of storm victims. Mac Kibbalaar of St. Maarten Medical Center in Belair said the hospital had only two bodies.
Richardson offered free air passage to illegal aliens who wanted to go home and said those who remained would be housed in a tent camp separate from homeless nationals.
His government denied rumors that it planned to use the hurricane as a excuse to expel unwelcome foreigners _ mainly Haitians and Dominicans _ tolerated in the past because they provided cheap labor for the tourist industry. They were paid as little as $1.20 an hour and could be hired and fired easily.
Richardson said nine shantytowns would be destroyed, including Marigot Hill, where reporters watched Haitians picking through debris Sunday, in search of salvageable sheets of iron, wood and nails to rebuild their shacks.
With months of rebuilding scheduled and no tourists expected, there are fears of an explosive situation.
Islanders have blamed the illegal aliens for the looting that Dutch Marines have been unable to control, while residents of the French side are afraid the foreigners will move to their side of the island.
Eddie Williams, the coordinator of the St. Maarten emergency broadcast service, said the government estimated there were 5,000 to 7,000 illegal aliens in the shantytowns. The Dutch Red Cross, which is responsible for the tent camps, put their number at 15,000 to 20,000.
The Red Cross lodged an official complaint Monday with Richardson, the lieutenant governor, and with the Dutch government, objecting to his plan to have Dutch Marines run the tent camps.
"The illegals are already so afraid of being deported that some already have gone into hiding in the hills. If they even see a soldier, they'll run," said Red Cross spokeswoman Alice Krauss.
Meanwhile, reports said Hurricane Luis destroyed 90 percent of Dominica's banana crop. The Dominica Banana Marketing Corp. said it expects to lose as much as $5.7 million.
Banana exports, the mainstay of this island's economy, were expected to drop from a projected 600 tons a week to about 75 tons, the company said.
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