Out in the cold
Runaway Bay craft traders angry after being left without vending space
SEVERAL CRAFT traders in Runaway Bay, St Ann, whose stalls were allegedly destroyed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) last Friday morning, are angry that they have been left out in the cold with nowhere to sell their goods.
The craft traders told The Gleaner last Wednesday that they were given notice to vacate the beach premises they have occupied, for up to 30 years in some instances, and are willing to relocate, but have nowhere to go.
One of the traders, Ancel Shand, said the UDC placed notices on their shops in October, giving them until November 10 to vacate the land. He said a team came out early Friday morning and destroyed the shops and took away the building materials. He is also alleging that several craft items were confiscated during the operation.
“They take away all the board, zinc – everything we have – and we have been here over 30 years,” Shand lamented. “And this is the third time it happen. They promised us for years to do something for us. Tell us they have somewhere planned that they will put us, but they have no plan for us. They just come and destroy. This is inhumane. This is a total disrespect of the people.”
Another craft trader, Paulette Maragh, said their grouse was not about having to vacate the premises, but being left with nowhere to ply their wares.
“I’m here on this beach from 1992. This is where I make my living, grow my kids. I am a breadwinner in my house. I’m a single lady, so when I leave here, I don’t know – kids stop go to school?” she questioned.
‘I’m here on this beach from 1992. This is where I make my living, grow my kids. I am a breadwinner in my house. I’m a single lady, so when I leave here, I don’t know – kids stop go to school?’
‘SETTLE US’
Maragh continued: “Yes, we get notice, but what I’m saying [is that] we get promises a long time ago towards them to give us a craft market in Runaway Bay, and no one come and stand with us and say, ‘Yes, let us settle these people’. It’s their property and they need their property. Yes, we’re willing to go, [but] settle us. That’s what we want.
“We don’t want anything. You need your property, yes, but we’re here for many years and we don’t know what to do, where we gonna go, that’s our problem. We don’t know where to go. We begging them to settle us, that’s all we need.”
The craft traders said their occupation of the beach area, located between Flavours Beach and Jewel Runaway Bay Hotel, is more than selling their goods as their presence makes the many tourists who access the beach daily feel safer.