Neighborhood serenity unravels in Lorient

"Today, it's becoming hard to imagine letting your children go to the beach alone to play," bellows one mother. In Saint-Barthélemy, the only real luxury is serenity. The kind that allows you to walk around at any time of the day or night without fear of the slightest incident, to leave even small children to play unsupervised, to leave the house without locking the doors, and so on. As a result, when this sense of peace and security unravels, an entire way of life is threatened. This is precisely the kind of gradual change that residents of the Lorient district have been experiencing over the past few months. A feeling that has become even more pronounced in recent weeks.
The incident that took place early on Monday morning, January 27, is a case in point. At around 7 a.m., a man in his thirties was chased away by the occupant of a villa located near the entrance to the beach, opposite the cemetery. In reality, the man was squatting in the house with several other people. Theft and damage were allegedly committed during their "stay".
Alerted, the gendarmerie immediately dispatched teams to the scene. Shortly afterwards, the absconding man was arrested. Placed in police custody, he denied all the charges against him. However, DNA tests have been carried out, and investigators are awaiting the results to confirm that he or she is indeed one of the perpetrators of the squatting and damage to the rented villa. The man has a profile that seems to be increasingly common on the island. A former company employee now without work or housing, he sleeps and occupies part of the beach and surrounding area. In Lorient, he's not the only one.

A group of ten people
For many weeks now, homeless people have been sleeping on the beach or in the vicinity of certain buildings. At the surf shack, in the vicinity of the library and dance hall, and so on. In some cases, hygiene conditions are deplorable to say the least. Damage to public and private property has been noted, as has derogatory behavior towards local residents. It appears to be a group of no more than a dozen people. But there are also men - and women - in similar situations in Gustavia and Public, near the sailing club.
Beyond the interventions of the territorial police and the gendarmerie, the question of how to resolve these disturbances deserves to be asked. And resolved. For example, it now seems imperative to find out why former employees of various companies find themselves squatting in public or private places to sleep. If they are not natives of the island, or have been residents for a certain length of time, why haven't they bought a return ticket? Is it by choice?
Commissioned by the Collectivité territoriale, the social cohesion services and the Red Cross are due to carry out a survey of residents from France who are now living "on the streets" in Saint-Barthélemy. One thing is certain: Lorient residents are losing patience with a situation that is gradually deteriorating. Moreover, it's hard not to make the connection between the recent incidents and the attack on a local resident in early January. Found with several wounds on his skull, he had to be hospitalized in Guadeloupe. His alleged assailant, a homeless man, was arrested and remanded in custody in Basse-Terre. A judicial investigation has been opened and he has been charged with violence with a weapon.
In Lorient, it now seems time to act to prevent the situation from deteriorating any further.