As Vincentians continue to ponder their next move including if they will be seeking accommodation in other Caribbean countries, one activist group is sending an early warning to authorities in Barbados not to make vaccination a mandatory requirement for those choosing to be housed in Bridgetown.
This warning from the Rastafari Progressive Movement (RPM) has come in light of recent comments made by St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves that the countries that have indicated they would accommodate Vincentians “they would want us to vaccinate before we come there”.
Countries such as Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, and St Kitts and Nevis have all indicated a willingness to assist in housing Vincentians temporarily as a result of the explosive eruptions at the La Soufrière volcano.
Gonsalves has not yet made a formal request for the volcano evacuees to be accommodated in Barbados.
However, earlier this week, he indicated that of the 600-plus Vincentians who have applied to be relocated to other Eastern Caribbean states, only “a few persons” have shown an interest in coming to Barbados.
In any event, the RPM has issued a warning to the Mia Mottley administration against using “this tragic event as an opportunity to impose mandatory vaccinations on the people of St Vincent who wish to seek refuge in Barbados”.
