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Guadeloupe.
Wilfrid Bélizaire killed by a motorist
Last April, Wilfrid Bélizaire took part in the Saint-Barthélemy Swimrun. A sporting event combining swimming and running. Wilfrid Bélizaire, a professional firefighter from Guadeloupe and triathlon enthusiast, finished second in the sixth Swimrun with Alexis Wozniak. Unfortunately, Saint-Barth will no longer have the pleasure of welcoming the 34-year-old athlete. On Saturday October 6, while training on his bike at around 6pm, Wilfrid Bélizaire was mowed down by a motorist on the RN4 bypass before the Gosier slip road. La 1ère reports that several witnesses have indicated that the driver of the killer vehicle fled the scene after the accident. The president of the SDIS (departmental fire and rescue service), Henri Angélique, paid tribute to "a dedicated man who had chosen to serve his community with courage and altruism", adding: "His commitment to the fire department bears witness to his deep vocation to protect the population and ensure the safety of his fellow citizens. "Wilfrid Bénizaire had already taken part in Swimrun in 2017. "It's a great race and I think it will last for years to come," he told JSB last April.
Haiti.
Massacre at Pont Sondé
It was around 3 a.m. on Thursday, October 3, when members of the "Gran Grif" (big claw) gang entered Pont Sondé, a small town some 100 km from the capital, Port-au-Prince. Armed with automatic rifles, the bandits criss-crossed the streets, firing at anyone they came across. "Almost all the victims were shot in the head", Bertide Horace, spokesman for a local association, told Magik 9 radio, RFI reported in an article. The toll of this macabre event is heavy. More than 70 people are reported to have been killed, including several babies. In addition, 45 houses and 34 vehicles were set on fire. The Haitian government denounced the attack as "unspeakably brutal". Reinforcements were sent in, including specialized anti-gang units supported by the multinational police force led by Kenya on a UN mission order.
For the time being, this external assistance has yet to prove its effectiveness. Not least because of a lack of resources. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called for "an increase in international financial and logistical support" for this force, made up mainly of Kenyan police officers. In Port-au-Prince, as in other cities across the country, armed gangs continue to kill and pillage. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has stated that over 3,660 people have been killed in Haiti since the beginning of the year. "This wave of violence and a catastrophic humanitarian situation have forced more than 700,000 people, half of them children, to flee their homes to seek refuge elsewhere in the country, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM)," RFI points out.
Saint-Martin.
Falling school enrolments
According to the latest Collectivité newsletter, school enrolment on the island is on the decline. At the start of the September school year, the island's 20 public schools (2 lycées, 3 collèges, 8 elementary schools and 7 nursery schools) welcomed 6,591 pupils, including 1,257 in nursery schools and 2,189 in elementary schools. This represents a 5.4% drop in enrolment compared with September 2023 (6,967 enrolled). "A negative variation in line with the demographic downturn observed in the region in recent years", explains the local authority. Third Vice-President Dominique Démocrite-Louisy, in charge of Education, also questions the "loss" in the number of students in the school system. Indeed, for the 2023 academic year, only 381 post-BAC+1 students were able to benefit from the Aide à la mobilité étudiante (AME). This aid is available to all post-baccalaureate students without means-testing, i.e. barely 10% of pupils enrolled in nursery and elementary schools for the start of the 2024 academic year. Post-baccalaureate students receive between 4,400 (baccalaureate + 1) and 11,400 euros (doctorate) per year in mobility aid, financed by the Collectivité and the European Social Fund (ESF).
Granada.
Teachers without pay for months
In a recent press release relayed by several Caribbean newspapers, the government of Grenada confirmed that teachers and agents on temporary contracts have not received their salaries for several months. A situation that has caused great concern among educators. All the more so as public sector workers are generally paid on a fortnightly basis, says Caribbean National Weekly. In response, Prime Minister Andy Williams expressed optimism that the problem would be resolved by next week. "We're doing our best," he said. He did not, however, provide any explanation as to the reason for the delays in salary payments. For his part, the president of the teachers' union, Jude Bartholomew, recalled the "harmful effect" of such delays, "on the morale of teachers and on the country's economy".
Saint Kitts and Nevis.
An electrical network in need of modernization
The government of St. Kitts and Nevis has commissioned a six-megawatt rental power plant to temporarily stabilize the national grid while the sole electricity supplier undertakes infrastructure upgrades. To support this initiative, the Observer reports that the government has secured $40 million in concessional funding from the Saudi Fund for Development for the purchase, construction and operation of an 18-megawatt dual-fuel power plant. This will include a battery energy storage system. Energy and Public Infrastructure Minister Konris Maynard stressed the "urgency of the situation", noting that existing generators are "on the verge of collapse" and solar farms do not provide 24-hour coverage. "It is imperative that a reliable temporary supply is put in place for SKELEC (St Kitts Electricity Co. Ltd) to successfully meet its objectives," he said.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
La Soufrière heats up
Earlier this week, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) issued a warning against visiting La Soufrière volcano due to high temperatures detected in the area. These thermal anomalies could signal potential hazards, such as a sulfur fire in the crater, a small phreatic (steam) eruption exposing hot rocks, or the start of a new lava extrusion. La Soufrière has a history of explosive eruptions. Its most recent major event occurred on April 9, 2021, after a phase of effusive activity. The volcano has erupted several times over the last fifty years. The most notable episodes occurred in 1972, 1979 and 2020.
Martinique.
The time for confrontation is not over yet
According to the latest reports from Agence France-Presse and articles published by our Martinique colleagues, calm is still far from having returned to Fort-de-France. Four mobile gendarmes were slightly wounded by gunfire on the night of Monday October 7 to Tuesday October 8 during urban violence, "against the backdrop of a protest movement for purchasing power", said the prefecture in a press release. According to the same document, quoted by Le Monde, seven people were arrested. Four were attempting to rob a store in Le Lamentin, a town near Fort-de-France, and three were setting fire to a service station. Flaming barricades were erected in several of the island's communes, public facilities were damaged and eight vehicles were set alight, according to the prefecture. Since yesterday, Wednesday, entrances and exits to the commercial port of Fort-de-France have been blocked at the initiative of the port inter-union, which occasionally takes part in actions to protest against the high cost of living.
