| Greetings from Vieques What does this have to do with running a guest facility and being an Innkeeper? Not much ... and everything if the Inn Keeper and Inn is on the island in question and the resulting publicity has shot business all to hell. This could never happen on Cape Cod or Fire Island or the Russian River but because Puerto Rico is a protectorate ( Right!) of the US and has no say in congress these atrocities have gone on for almost 60 years. "Not one more bomb!!!" is the cry of the protestors and when I first came here I was reluctant to get into the argument. I wanted to sell Lee Valley Farm in TN ( it's still on the market btw - long story for another time) manage Bouganvilla and enjoy the peace and tranquility of this beautiful island. A friend wrote the other day and said; "How come I never heard of this island until you moved there?" Intimating that if I moved to the North Pole Santa's elves would go on strike and that would be the end of Christmas. I didn't start this and I won't finish it but I can't help but become a part. Imagine something like this happening where you are. You would not sit around and claim '"It's not my problem!" any more than I can. I'm going to request that the good folks at Purple Roofs use this instead of my regular column this month because I hope you will make this your problem as well.. Go to the web pages listed, write or send e-mails to your representatives in congress. You may even find there are demonstrations in your home towns. The people of Vieques kept the United States Navy hostage for 381 days. With your help we can turn, "Not One More Bomb" from a slogan into a reality. Gracias y Buenos dias, Lee Lawrence www.leesbananas.com May 4, 2000 Vieques Island, Puerto Rico At about four AM this morning barricades were put in place by the Vieques Police Department on the road leading to the military base at Camp Garcia. As dawn broke and with an embarrassing display of muscle and might the United States government, with the assistance of Federal Marshals, The FBI and The Coast Guard began to arrest citizens of this tiny but controversial island off the coast of Puerto Rico. Their wrists bound with plastic restraints and singing the words to Sholom Alechem, a Hebrew peace song, the citizens of Vieques proudly held their hands high, while they permitted themselves to be peacefully loaded into vans and moved inside Camp Garcia. They were later transferred to Roosevelt Roads Military Base on the main island. Numerous prepared statement were read in both Spanish and English referring to those being arrested as; "trespassers" although one representative did refer to them as "protestors" and quickly corrected himself,. The gist of the statements were that they were on government property illegally and their presence was preventing the United States government from carrying out the practices that enable her to be the most powerful nation on earth and the protector of her people. Moving the "trespassers" required the deployment of three battle ships, numerous helicopters and thousands of personnel. It may been a slip of the tongue: trespasser vs. protester. A trespasser walks on the "do not walk" sign on a newly seeded lawn or in extreme cases may hunt or fish on property in spite of signs clearly stating that such activity is a No No. But a protestor? What could anyone possibly protest to on an island that truly sparkles like a jewel in Caribbean sunshine and has more palm trees that people? Possibly they are protesting because their island home has been systematically bombed, strafed and mutilated by live ordinance (aka. bullets and bombs) since World War 11. Possibly they resent the fact that when the United States government is not doing the bombing and strafing itself it enables other countries to so and gets paid for it. They may also object to seeing their herds of horses and cattle being used for target practice. Maybe the people are protesting the fact that their beautiful island has been turned into the Chernobyl of the Caribbean. It may not be as obvious or notorious as Love Canal but it's beaches, bays and reefs may be just as toxic. Although nobody is really sure because the people who are doing the testing aren't telling the people who are doing the asking. It could be the people are upset because fully two thirds of the island that was once home to cattle ranches and banana and sugar plantations are now lost for generations to come. Possibly forever. Instead of agriculture and wages the people have unemployment and Welfare. Or maybe they are just protesting because they're afraid to eat the fish that come from their waters because they don't know what the fish ate and the people who do know refuse to say. A trespasser will usually move along with a "move along there" and possibly flip a bird back as a parting shot in order to maintain face. But it's a little harder to move protesters especially ones who have been protesting since that "errant bomb" killed one of their citizens last April. 381 days would really be stretching it for a trespasser. It's nothing to a protestor. The Department of Defense says there is no place else on the planet where they can train troops for combat as effectively as Vieques. But train they have, for over a year, at bases in Florida and North Carolina and look how well they're doing. They pulled off the Gonzalez caper with nary a shot being fired and not a life was lost. Face? Yes. Life? No. I'm a relative newcomer to the island. I've only lived here for about a year so I would never presume to speak for the generations of Viequense who have lived with bombs in their backyards all their lives. But it is long enough to form an opinion and in my opinion the trespassers/ protestors, call them whatever you like, are really asking for only two things: truth and respect. There are documents, 1,006 of them to be exact, regarding the situation in Vieques that are being ignored, "overlooked" or shunted aside so that military operations may continue. Environmental impact studies have been done but the results never quite seem to get the attention that the protesters receive.The truth is out there. Show it to us. President Clinton has offered the citizens of Vieques forty million dollars if they will allow bombing to resume and another fifty million if they use live bombs rather than inert. That's like saying, "We already know you're a whore .. now we just have to settle on your price." What good will the money do if a family can't celebrate a child's birthday at the beach because the waters are too toxic? Who cares how rich a family is when it's children are dying of cancer? There are approximately 9,000 full time residents on Vieques. They are proud of their island. They respect it's natural beauty, it's history and a heritage that goes back thousands of years. Is it too much to ask that the United States Government - the protector of Vieques and all of Puerto Rico - show this island the respect it deserves? There is degree of irony here as well. After the trespassers/ protestors were removed from their position at the Garcia Gate rolls of razor wire were uncoiled across the entrance to Camp Garcia. "Not gonna let that happen again!" I heard one marine say as the wire was set in place with his thick, leather gloved hands. While camera crews from around the world were packing up their gear new fence post holes were dug and chain link fences topped with barbed wire were being installed. I spoke to a CNN reporter as he was stuffing papers into his backpack. "We'll all be gone by 5:00 o'clock." he said. "The story here has been told, the pictures taken. It's over." "Not true." I thought. I'd just come from downtown where hundreds of people were beginning to gather in The Plaza to continue their demands for truth and respect. In fact, in cities and plazas all across Puerto Rico and in the United States, in Hawaii and in Europe people were gathering to show their support for Vieques, the little island in the Caribbean that held the US Navy hostage for 381 days. The protestors were released: "...without any charges being filed" according to Janet Reno. "....charges would be filed if they trespassed on Navy property again." She added. Sorry, Janet, but it's not over yet. There's gonna be a whole lot of trespassing going on. Lee Lawrence Vieques, Puerto Rico lee@leesbananas.com |