TCI: Court Order Demolition in Blue Hills; Squatters warned for years to move

#Providenciales, April 6, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – Countless homes are demolished and countless residents, possibly undocumented migrants originating from Haiti are displaced today after two excavators plowed through an area known as Miracle Close and Snake Hill, in Providenciales. 

The action was as a result of a court order and after a reported three-year legal battle to have the illegal dwellers move off the land; all of them labelled squatters by authorities.

It was explained that before the demolition, there was a thorough check to ensure all structures were empty. Some homes were made of concrete, others of wood and most topped with a zinc roof.  From the demolition debris, it is clear that personal belongings were still housed in the structures… this man was one of many seen rummaging through the rubble in search of personal items.

Bystanders and those who once lived in these homes watched and others we are told ran deeper into the bushes; one of them a young woman with a young baby, just three months old.

Royal Turks and Caicos Police, Planning Department, Environmental Health, Human Rights, Welfare, Fire Department, FortisTCI, the power company and attorneys for the land owner were all on site since 6 a.m. 

Official statistics on how many structures, how many people and how many acres were unavailable at the time we visited the scene on Miracle Close.

The work is more than can be tackled in a single day as the network of illegal dwellings is far and wide.  The effort has been peaceful as the squatters had been warned to pack up and move out long before the demolition started.

#magneticmedianews

#courtorderdemolitioninsnakehill

#illegalsquatingintci