Chaos erupted in downtown Port-of-Spain yesterday afternoon when Charlotte Street vendors began to forcefully resist attempts by the police to remove them. Around 4 pm yesterday enraged vendors blocked Charlotte Street, between Independence Square and Queen Street, with crates and large rubbish bins, blocking a tractor hired to clear the area. They began chanting "we want the streets" and "Lee Sing remember where you came from." More than 20 police officers of the Guard and Emergency Branch, along with T&T Defence Force personnel, were called in when the situation turned violent. Vendors began to riot when officers tried to move their barricade and clear the area. A vendor, identified only as "Andy", was escorted away by the police after in an act of protest he began pounding on the tractor with his fists and screaming at the police.
After a bottle was thrown at the police, a fight broke out between the police and vendors. A member of the Guard and Emergency Branch fired two rounds of warning shots into the air, further enraging the vendors, who began to chant "Gunshots is my anthem" and "Why y'all doh use your guns to fight crime." When the crowd refused to move the police threatened to use tear gas. The crowd began to scatter when a member of the riot police walked into the crowd with a tear gas gun. Onlookers and vendors madly scrambled up the road in a frenzy, while some tried to escape into nearby stores. Eventually the crowd retreated up to the corner of Queen and Charlotte Streets. Charlotte Street clothes vendor Natoya Dickson said Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing's plan to relocate vendors to the Salvatori Building was cruel and unfair.
A vendor, known as "Andy", is escorted away by a member of the Guard and Emergency Branch yesterday.
Helplessly watching the tractor rip through the vendors barricade, she said all vendors were asking was to be able to continue selling for the two weeks before Christmas, a time when there sales were the highest. Dickson said vendors had paid their monthly rent of $600 for the month of December and refused to be move. She said the city corporation was asking for vendors to pay $650 a week at the new vendor-designated area. Dickson said the majority of vendors were single mothers and this time of year was when they earned the most. Community activist Lennox Smith said Lee Sing's plan to uproot the vendors just days before Christmas was "barbaric and designed to further pauperism." Vendor Marissa Francis said all vendors wanted was for Lee Sing to allow them to remain on Charlotte Street for the next two weeks. She said: "All we asking is for Louis Lee Sing to give us the next ten days, so we could make some money for Christmas."
Vendor Daphine Marshall who received five charges for allegedly using obscene language and blocking the police when they came to clear her stall, said according to contractual agreement between the vendors and the city, vendors can sell from Thursday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.
She said, however, since 2006 vendors had been allowed to vend everyday for the two weeks leading up to Christmas. Marshall, who showed the media a copy of the agreement, pointed out that under section six vendors were not allowed to hold other forms of employment while registered as city vendors. She said, therefore, vending was the sole source of income for many and having their stalls taken down put them on the breadline. Vendors also alleged police officers had used unnecessary violence against them.
A riot police officer prepares to disperse the protesting vendors with tear gas yesterday after small fights broke out on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain. Photos: Marcus Gonzales
Kerron Alberty said he and his brother were helping a relative clear out her stall when they were confronted by the police. He claimed the police proceeded to beat them with their canes which left visible marks around their bodies. Vendors, who spoke with the media, said they would not leave and would continue to protest throughout the week. In the crowd, a city council member who did not want to be named, said she could not understand why the vendors did not want to move. She said a place had been set up for them and she did not understand why there was so much protest. Pressed about the incidence of police's warning shots and the vendors' claims of violence, she said she did not want to comment and walked off into the crowd.
Mayor responds
Responding yesterday's incident on Charlotte Street yesterday Port-of-Spain Mayor Louis Lee Sing said the vendors disregarded the arrangements made by the Port-of-Spain City Corporation. He said the vendors were originally scheduled to operate for three days - Thursday to Saturday. However, he said, the vendors wanted to work ten days. "That is not possible. We have other stakeholders to look after," Lee Sing said. He added some vendors "came and set up camp last night (Sunday)." Lee Sing said the vendors became violent and police were forced to intervene to maintain order. He said they normally operated for the three days "uninterrupted." He said businessmen on the street also needed to be given a fair opportunity for their businesses. Lee Sing said: "It impacts on other stakeholders too. The vendors have disregarded the agreements made with the Port-of-Spain City Corporation."
