(Barbados Nation) St Lucia’s Defence Force was called into action yesterday when hundreds of citizens burst through gates and bombarded Barbadian fishing vessels laden with relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Thomas.
The vessels arrived in St Lucia early yesterday morning.
Jonathan Morgan, one of the owners of Morgan’s Fish House and one of the organisers of the relief effort, said the first shipments offloaded by the Rotary Club of Barbados and The Barbados Red Cross went smoothly. However things turned chaotic after people pleading for water were allowed onto the compound by personnel of the Port Authority and Customs Department.
Morgan said the Defence Force was called in to render assistance, and residents were made to line up in order to be served. The team also removed two fishing boats to a safer location, after things started getting “out of hand”.
The seven fishing boats, which left Barbados on Tuesday night, carried at least 4 000 cases of bottled water, but Morgan said that was “nowhere near enough”. The boat owner said many who rushed the boats had said that taps had been dry since Tomas.
“Those people were just desperate for water! Some hadn’t had a bath for the week and it was chaotic. I couldn’t believe it. All I was hearing is – Can I get water, can I get water?” he related.
Morgan, who praised the boat owners and fishermen for the selfless deed, said originally they were scheduled to take six boats of supplies, but because of the heavy loads, they were forced to call on the owner of Lucky Lady to accompany them on the trip.
