Frustrated by years of neglect, Roseau residents took matters into their own hands on Friday morning, setting up a roadblock that halted operations at Saint Lucia Distillers. Their protest, aimed at securing long-overdue road repairs, prevented vehicles from entering and exiting the distillery, disrupting deliveries and sales.
However, just hours after the demonstration, roadworks began—a response that residents believe was driven by their action, though Parliamentary Representative for the area, Wayne Girard said it had been in the works before the protest.
Randy Similien, who led the protest, explained that residents were fed up with the deteriorating road conditions and excessive dust affecting their daily lives.
“When the wind blows, when the vehicles from the distillery are passing, it sends a lot of dust to people’s homes…. The road is very bad,” he complained.
“So I got up this morning at 4 o’ clock and I got some guys and I blocked the road and I said to the guys ‘we have to take some action’, because sometimes when you don’t take action, people don’t respect you. People don’t see what you feel if you don’t take action.”
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Police were called to the scene, and distillery officials engaged with the protesters. According to Similien, they were assured that work would begin on Saturday.
However, repairs started even sooner.
“It is because of what we did in the community,” Similien declared.
However, Girard, Member of Parliament for Anse La Raye-Canaries, said the repairs had already been in the pipeline before the protest, but apologised to residents for the delay.
“About a week ago, actually, the engineers were already on site to do the evaluation, to begin the work, and I know they said it’s been there for some time, and I understand that, and we apologise for that,” he said.
Girard described the protest as a demonstration of “democracy alive and well at work” and assured residents that their concerns were being addressed.
“We have no issue with residents expressing their concern about issues affecting them. We responded immediately, and we will deal with the issue immediately,” he said.
Acknowledging the health concerns caused by dust, the MP added: “We are not very pleased that they are had to undergo such difficulty with regards to the dust. We recognise it’s a health issue. We recognise that there are other concerns as a result of the dust, and that is why we responded to it immediately.”
Girard also sought to set the record straight that there was no conflict between the residents and Saint Lucia Distillers, noting that the company has been a longstanding supporter of the community.
“We are very grateful for everything that the distillery has done for Roseau and will continue to do for Roseau,” he said. “We are continuing to work with the distillery, the distillery will continue to work with the people of Roseau to ensure that whatever that they require to enhance their quality of life, we will do it together, in partnership.”
CEO of Saint Lucia Distillers Margaret Monplaisir acknowledged the frustrations of the residents but expressed a preference for dialogue over demonstrations.
“Indeed, the road has been an issue, and so we understand their frustration, and we, too, are quite happy and excited to see that work is being done now, action is being taken. We just would have preferred it to have been done in a different way,” she said, noting that the action prevented Saint Lucia Distillers from making deliveries to customers during the morning period.
Despite the disruption, Monplaisir reaffirmed the distillery’s commitment to working alongside the community.
“Many of our employees come from Roseau. We give priority to employing from Roseau, and we understand their concerns…. We encourage them to continue open dialogue with us,” she said. “We’ve had community meetings in the past, and my door is always open, so I fully encourage the Roseau community to continue to engage with us when there are issues, and we will do our best to address them.”
Meanwhile, Similien believes that communities across Saint Lucia must stand up when authorities fail to act.
When reminded that blocking the road was illegal, he was quick to add: “I’m not telling anybody to go and do anything that going to cost them their jobs or police arresting them.
“We just needed something done and I just thought we needed to take some action and that’s what we did…. I just stand up. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Yet, he made it clear that if necessary, he was prepared to protest again, even if it meant facing legal consequences.
Similien also voiced frustration with politicians, saying residents had felt ignored for too long.
“Too long in Saint Lucia, the politicians are taking us for ‘pappyshow’. They think we are clowns; they fooling us,” he charged.
Girard, however, pledged his continued support for the community.
“Roseau is dear to me, will remain dear to me. I have family who lives in Roseau, so I have no intention of becoming one of those on the list who have neglected Roseau. I will attend to the issues affecting Roseau, beginning this afternoon,” the Saint Lucia Labour Party MP promised.
