Dear Editor,
The other day I decided that I had to discover my island further, because it is worth to be discovered. So, I went on an expedition and planned to take a walkabout at the trail passing Back Bay from Pointe Blanche.
The area was a total surprise for three reasons. First, it was wild! It was nature! The atmosphere was great, relaxed, truly removed from the fumes of cars in traffic jams and crowded life on the island. I immediately fell in love with the area. An area to protect for generations to come. It also should be great for tourists on cruise ships, who after a week might be fed up with buffets and the crowdedness, and need some space, some beautiful views and maybe a little swim in one of the natural pools.
It took me a while to find the trail though, so that was also a tiny surprise. Especially because one had to pass a dirt road, and I mean dirt in the sense of dirty. One constantly thinks: am I going the right way?
At one point in St. Maarten’s recent history there seems to have been a garbage dump here. In the bushes there are still lots of car parts, concrete pieces, broken tiles, scattered glass and rusted up stuff all over. It is good most of the garbage has been taken away, but the mess on the edges is still there and it seems that people still use it as a dumping ground.
My surprise increased like a big bubble gum, when I walked on and saw large amounts of car parts on a seaside cliff. Rubber tyres, motor blocks, metal, wires, plastics, a big part of a truck and that is just what was visible. What is there beneath the surface of the water? A bit of iron is not that bad maybe, but tyres, that slowly break down in little pieces that via fish find its way into our food, is just plain bad. Let alone all of the other parts with chemical plasticisers.
On the first rocky beach of Back Bay, the area is also covered with washed-up car parts and washed-up tyres. Bushes are covered in plastic bottles and other plastic, and look like a bad, fake Christmas trees.
No sea cucumber, but black rubber hoses. No conches, we try so very hard to protect from export, but plastic car mirrors. No sharks in this part of the shark reservation, but big grey plastic bumpers. No sand dollars, but plastic pieces of all sorts. So apparently stuff slides down the cliff and ends up on the beach.
One wonders what is still beneath the surface of the water, but having a look is risky, while during a swim a truck seat might fall on your head! I don’t even want to go into the question, which dirt bag dumped the stuff there. Pin him on a Pope’s Head Cactus and let him sit for a while. I do wonder why this has not been cleaned as of yet. On the cliff, on the beach and on the bottom of our beautiful Caribbean waters.
Maybe it is already being arranged and this letter is unnecessary, but Government, EPIC (Environmental Protection of the Caribbean), community, scuba divers come together. You want to do a clean-up! Here is one for you. It is a biggie!
Turn in the iron and maybe there is even money to be made! Of course it is going to take some heavy equipment, a lot of hands and also remnants of two small structures have to be broken away, but this island can do it.
The walk itself has to be cleaned too, and some small safety fencing has to be put in place. Then you will have without a doubt one of the most beautiful hikes on this island.
Simpson Soualiga
