From Caribbean News Now

OTTAWA, Canada — In a series of updates this month, the Canadian government has issued new travel advisories for a number of Caribbean countries. Most notable of these is that Canadian citizens travelling to Saint Lucia are now recommended to exercise a “high degree of caution” compared to “normal security precautions” in all other Eastern Caribbean islands.

Visitors to Saint Lucia should expect limited medical resources, generally poor road conditions, unreliable public transportation, and moderate crime rates, the advisory noted.

“Avoid unpopulated areas and unpatrolled beaches, especially after dark, and avoid staying in hotels or villas in isolated areas, which may have inadequate security. Check with local authorities to determine which beaches are safe. Avoid the districts of Marchand, Broglie, St Grass, St Leslie Land, and Wilton Yard, located off of Chausee Road, which have high rates of crime,” it said.

Saint Lucia now joins Venezuela as a country where Canadians are recommended to exercise a high degree of caution, along with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states Belize, Bahamas, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Canada is apparently the only major source market for tourists to Saint Lucia that has now in effect acknowledged the negative effect on visitor security of the withdrawal by the United States of all law enforcement and other assistance to the Saint Lucia security services pursuant to the mandatory provisions of the so called Leahy Law.

Even the US itself seems oblivious to the logic that, if the US acts in this manner to reduce the effectiveness of citizen security in a particular country, nationals should at least be warned or otherwise alerted that their personal safety may be at greater risk when traveling to that country compared to other countries where the US has not so acted.

“The Department of State provides US citizens with as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions regarding their personal safety and security while they travel. We continuously review our safety and security information, and provide updates to US citizens through our Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.

“Consistent with US law and policy, the Department of State vets foreign security force units around the world to which we provide assistance, and we regularly review our support of their security and military forces in accordance with US law. Any credible information regarding gross human rights violations leads to the suspension or termination of our support to individuals and units involved, consistent with US law,” a State Department official said in response to a request for comment.

The issue of the personal safety of visitors to Saint Lucia was raised following a recent report in London’s Daily Mail newspaper that a British doctor was brutally raped during a vacation to the island earlier this year.

However, while Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) must be aware that the US has acted to reduce visitor safety and security in Saint Lucia, it has not warned British citizens accordingly, except a generic advisory common to other Eastern Caribbean islands that “Most visits are trouble-free, but there have been incidents of crime including murder, armed robbery and sexual assault. You should maintain at least the same level of personal security awareness as you would in the UK and make sure your accommodation is secure.”

According to the FCO, while claiming to continue to monitor the situation in Saint Lucia carefully, the current travel advice already makes reference to the risks associated with travelling to Saint Lucia, and advises sensible precautions, but at the same time acknowledges that tens of thousands of UK citizens visit Saint Lucia each year and return without incident.

“The Foreign Office constantly reviews its travel advice to ensure that it is up to date, and that it accurately reflects the risks to UK nationals travelling to particular countries,” an FCO spokesperson said.

IMAGE: Global Affairs Canada headquarters in Ottawa

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