To the newspaper and the island’s population:
Like many tourists, we are among these humans who have allergies rather easily, allergies caused by pollen and by dust. It was more than unpleasant to see that your island has a severe dust problem. It killed our enjoyment during our vacation and it impacted our health from day one. Your island has a health endangering, allergy causing and a displeasing dust problem. Your island’s traffic and dust was damaging, damaging to our health.
We had never experienced so much dust, anywhere during a vacation and anywhere during our lives. My partner got red and running eyes plus breathing issues and I had an allergy sneeze with running nose during our entire stay.
There is dust everywhere on and near roads. Vehicles are all dusty, golf carts are all dusty, plants and trees on your roads are all dusty. In town everything is dusty, your streets and roads and your shops; there is dust flying around everywhere.
You all might be used to your dust clouds (one could hope) but for us tourists this is a health issue and an issue of quality during our vacation time. Every day we got more and more angry about the dust and concerned about our health conditions.
Your dust has one single source, one source only.
The very apparent lack of infrastructure with badly planned, poorly constructed and badly maintained roads, in combination with your heavy, unpleasant traffic: one road, one race track, mostly bumper to bumper and forcing tourists to drive within a never-ending dust cloud.
We tourists do not want to experience such poor, unhealthy 3rd world conditions. As tourists we do not want to breathe your dust. Our health is more important.
We also tried to keep distance from your trucks, taxis and cars. It was impossible. As soon as we had left some space open in order for dust to settle, a local moron passed us and sprayed his fresh dust on us, directly in our faces from just five feet away: taxi dust, truck dust, Polaris dust, 4-wheeler dust, motorbike dust, vehicle dust everywhere and nearly every second while on your dust road.
It did not matter that we were already driving at speeds of 15 mile limit or slightly over. Some idiotic behaving drivers needed to use the smallest of spaces right in front us just to save 1/2 minute of driving time. For that 1/2 minute your drivers did not mind to blow fresh dust directly into our faces, on every possible occasion. Once even a large vehicle with a Health Department sign on the door sprayed us full with his dust. All that dust virtually stuck to our bodies and faces, not even to talk how much dust we were forced to breathe in causing our allergic reactions. Your dust made us both sick!!!
We also had some talks/complains with some of your island people, locals as well as immigrated residents from the US. All had told us that a lack of rain was to blame for the island’s dust problems: “Blame it on the Rain” was the new island song.
Not one person wanted to recognize the island’s real problems causing your dust, these bad roads and your incredibly bad traffic situation.
Keep on praying for some rain and that some tourists might still come and visit. It won’t be us again for sure. This vacation was not at all what we expected and needed.
Sorry about our anger but our health was damaged,
/s/
Jonathan Jones
West Hollywood, California
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