They wanted to take the opportunity to get their message across. Activists opposed to the obligation to vaccinate Guadeloupe caregivers invaded this Thursday the forecourt of the Memorial ACTe, in Pointe-à-Pitre, where the arrival of the Route du rhum is held. At the sound of the drum, the group of demonstrators arose between two concerts, carrying flaming lanterns. He had repeatedly announced his intention to disrupt the party.
“We have come to show that our lives are important and must come before a boat race”, harangued in Creole on the stage Maïté Hubert M’Toumo, general secretary of the General Union of Guadeloupean Workers (UGTG), member of the ” Collective of organizations fighting against mandatory vaccination.
In a speech broadcast live on social networks, she recalled the situation of hospital staff suspended for several months for lack of vaccination against Covid-19 and expressed “doubts” on the effectiveness of vaccines, yet established, in particular against severe forms of the disease.
The lack of means in Guadeloupe denounced
The activists also drew a parallel between the investments made for the holding of the Route du rhum and Guadeloupe’s lack of financial means to solve the structural problems of the island such as water, transport, school or even the unemployment.
“Each time people do the Route du rhum, they continue to murder our ancestors, they trample on our memories, and despise the fights our ancestors fought for our freedom, and each time they despise us,” said the secretary. general of the UGTG, summoning the memory of the journeys of the slave trade to castigate the race.