Violence Erupts on Desperate Caribbean Islands: All the Food Is Gone
Source: New York Times
MARIGOT, St. Martin At dawn, people began to gather, quietly planning for survival after Hurricane Irma.
They started with the grocery stores, scavenging what they needed for sustenance: water, crackers, fruit.
But by nightfall on Thursday, what had been a search for food took a more menacing turn, as groups of people, some of them armed, swooped in and took whatever of value was left: electronics, appliances and vehicles.
All the food is gone now, Jacques Charbonnier, a 63-year-old resident of St. Martin, said in an interview on Sunday. People are fighting in the streets for what is left.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/world/americas/irma-caribbean-st-martin.html?mcubz=0&_r=0
turbinetree
(24,745 posts)accountable for this.................in some ways it reminds me of Mad Max.
Because like my wife's niece said, if people don't see climate change or the planet getting warmer then they are idiots ....................
A storm that was 400 miles across, that covered the entire state of Florida, and engulfed these islands..............
Lurks Often
(5,455 posts)and most of the islands lack the depth of resources (people and infrastructure) that the U.S. has, so even if FL or TX may not have enough resources, the surrounding states and the Federal government will step in to help.
FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)When law enforcement is too busy dealing with saving lives, it doesn't take long to see what people will do.
SweetieD
(1,660 posts)Instantly. Tourism has immediately stopped. That is both sides dutch and french economy.
FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)If there is no food on the island, it doesn't matter how many stolen TV's they have. That is just lawlessness and greed.
People breaking into stores for food, water is excusable.
People looting electronics, cars, etc is indefensible.
brush
(53,978 posts)to be bartered for if somebody still gives a damn about electronic goods when the entire island and peoples' way of life is destroyed?
There are more extremely pressing matters to attend to, like staying alive, than some looting.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Why avoid the more accurate "looting for food and water" with "breaking into...?"
I took a guess. Most likely correct.
FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)I have no idea of your guesses, but that's your issue. I would not call people getting food/water looters even if you do.
CottonBear
(21,597 posts)There were news photo captions at the time that said exactly those words.
As far as Irma is concerned, the "looters" are on devastated islands in the middle of the ocean. There are no supplies, no infrastructure, no jobs and the authorities are most likely overwhelmed with the scale of the disaster.
The British, French & Dutch armed forces need to step up the relief efforts immediately.
There will have to be a Marshall plan for the affected island nations.
jpak
(41,761 posts)The local press stated that they did this to endure their sorry situation.
If a black man had done this - he would have been shot - and it would have been "justified"
CottonBear
(21,597 posts)Sadly, the double standard still exists.
<snip>
Slowly the survivors managed to find one another, walking stunned through their ruined town. When bottles began floating away from nearby Snappys Liquor Store, whose top half was blown off in the storm, they drank, and that helped make the unimaginable situation tolerable.
<snip>
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)It doesn't matter if we excuse it or not it's still going to happen.
marybourg
(12,650 posts)advocate overlooking looting. S/he merely explained factually why looting of items other than food and water may take place.
Doreen
(11,686 posts)Most everybody is just as poor as they are and I am sure the rich people are somewhere else safer. If there is no food it does not matter how much you have because you just are not going to be able to get it.
I think people do it because they can and when things like this happen it either brings the best out or the worst.This type of thing reminds me of "Lord Of The Flies" because that movie shows how humans can really be in bad situations and it does not matter what age.
dembotoz
(16,866 posts)and then ebay when the post office gets back up and running
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)cleaned out. some homes were looted.
Their military & police keep order, a few people are causing trouble but they'll get them under control. Planes can fly supplies in, medical help is on the ground, some people have been evacuated off the island and other islands are very close.
Here's one of the overview vids- remember French and Dutch control and they are helping. Check out the returning families, the young girl selfie in her car is an awesome 'reporter' . some of the store looters are shown and how orderly people are.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)who that is?
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)This video at 30 seconds shows what the 185mph looks like- trees shredding and the wind howls. also has some footage from Puerto Rico a bus flipped over and people went out in hurricane and helped bus passengers.
Stuart G
(38,458 posts)Javaman
(62,534 posts)FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)The island was sparsely settled and was able to support a small group or Arawak and Siboney people.
Now, the the population is near 100,000. The only way that can happen is to ship in a lot of food from other locations continuously.
As the worlds population balloons, this is a what is in store for us all one day.
procon
(15,805 posts)The Caribbean Islands are not farmland any more than than New York City or Los Angeles, or Hawaii. Should we just turn everything back to the indigenous populations of prehistory who lived off the land, rather than ship in food to all the major population centers in the country?
Delphinus
(11,848 posts)idea the island contained nearly 100,000 people! And that's not including tourists, right? Wow.
jalan48
(13,911 posts)People who are starving will do whatever it takes to stay alive. Here in Disneyland America I don't think most see what is coming.
maxsolomon
(33,461 posts)but lets all flip out about looting and act like looters deserve to be shot on-site. it's so american.
dembotoz
(16,866 posts)as in not now
0rganism
(23,992 posts)it won't be long now
climate change is going to drop the hammer hard over the next century
we could have done this to ourselves in 1 week of nuclear war, hell we still might, but it looks like we opted for a somewhat slower extinction event to take place over a couple centuries. doesn't make a lot of difference on the geologic time scale.
in a million years archaeologists from the sentient beetle population will be digging up our bones and discussing our swift rise to dominance and catastrophic decline to nothingness in their universities. i hope they learn something useful from our mistakes.
FakeNoose
(32,912 posts)We're leaving behind mountains of plastic garbage and trash that will never decompose.
0rganism
(23,992 posts)"hey hand me that plastic thing over there would you Xhtiackckck?"
"sure thing Yyyfffckckck."
*nomnomnom* "delicious! these humans sure left behind some tasty records!"