The political situation in Jamaica

Activists want to stop a 70-year-old beach law: “Fighting for what is ours”

Several of Jamaica’s historically important beaches are being sold off to private property and hotel owners. The issue will be raised in court next week after Jamaican activists filed a lawsuit against the state, reports The Guardian.

Beaches that local residents risk losing access to include Mammee Bay, Bob Marley Beach and Blue Lagoon.

The lawsuit is based on a 1956 law that means that the state controls beaches and marine areas. In recent years, the government has increasingly handed over management to private actors, who have introduced fences, guards and entrance fees.

Behind the lawsuit is the organization Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement. They want the law to be torn down and for the state to instead protect the interests of local residents.

“We should not be forced to fight for what is already ours,” says activist Olando Brown.

“Racist” tourism behind major beach row in Jamaica

In recent years, a beach conflict between the state and the residents has flared up in Jamaica, writes The Guardian. The criticism is that a large part of the island's beaches have been privatized in connection with the construction of hotel complexes and enormous luxury properties.

Jobs on the beaches and the fishing industry are crucial for the livelihood of the local population, say the critics.

“When you cut us off from the sea, it practically means that we risk starving to death,” says Devon Taylor, who runs an organization that fights to introduce a kind of public right in Jamaica.

The government has promised to protect local people's access to the largest beaches, but at the same time says that the tourism industry is the island's most important source of income.

Devon Taylor disagrees and calls it “racist tourism,” which, according to him, only benefits the rich and the island's elite.