Why should we have to leave?

That was the question on the lips of squatters at Club Med as they prepared for eviction today.

Rather than relief at leaving the derelict resort in favour of emergency housing elsewhere, the residents protested they are being kicked out of somewhere they like simply because it has become a political hot potato.

“I don’t want to leave. I’ve become attached to this place. It’s our own community right now,” said one teenager as she packed up rather than see her belongings bulldozed along with the St. George’s site. Approximately 40 people lived illegally at Club Med until Housing Minister David Burch announced last month that the buildings were unsafe and must be demolished. He said squatters on the BHC emergency housing list would be moved to the former Pembroke Rest Home and also the staff quarters of the former Wyndham hotel, which is also slated for demolition.

They will be expected to pay rent for the new rooms — rumoured to be $700 per month. A previous eviction day on March 30 came and went because the Wyndham did not meet fire code regulations. Some Club Med residents moved out at that point, and there were around 20 left by yesterday.

One squatter claimed yesterday that the eviction may be delayed once again because “someone bust the windows in at the Wyndham” over the weekend. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Public Safety and Housing later confirmed some of the rooming areas at the former staff facilities received “damage” which was under Police investigation, but the eviction deadline was not affected. She gave no details of what type of damage occurred, and a Police spokesman declined to give any information.

The vandalism was another twist in the tale of Club Med, which was at the centre of a political row last month between Opposition Senator Gina Spence-Farmer and Housing Minister Senator David Burch. Mrs. Spence-Farmer accused Government of ignoring those living at Club Med and failing to build enough new homes.

Sen. Burch responded by saying if he had his way she would be arrested for allegedly helping the illegal squatters to break the law. Four days later, he announced that the residents would be evicted, stating: “We have no choice but to do so. That’s what everybody in this country who has complained of our lack of action has asked for. We must not allow our citizens to live in a building that is clearly dangerous.”

None of those who spoke to The Royal Gazette yesterday was prepared to give their name, but all expressed a mixture of sorrow and anger at the prospect of eviction day.

One man, who has been squatting at Club Med for six months since he split with his girlfriend, said: “I’m comfortable. I live like a king. What more could I want?”

The 31-year-old blamed the fact that Club Med turned into “a political issue” for the fact that long-term residents are having to leave. He was not packing yesterday, despite having a new apartment lined up, as he wanted to see how things turn out today. He also expressed concern for those with nowhere else to go.

“They aren’t getting ready to leave. What are they going to do?” he asked.

Another man, aged 47, said: “I like it down here. It’s nice and quiet.”

He said he ended up living at Club Med four years ago after he got divorced, lost his home, and got jailed several times over child support. He blames his plight on foreigners taking up accommodation needed for Bermudians.

“I’m going to put my tent in Colonel Burch’s yard,” he joked.

He plans to live rough if he is kicked out today because he does not want to leave his home town of St. George’s.

“I’ll have to go down the bushes. I’m starting to pack. For real. I wonder where the others are going to go? There’s one man here with a broken leg and a lady in a wheelchair,” he said. “We’re feeling frustration, and wondering where we are going to go from here.”

Club Med closed in 1988. Since then, a number of development proposals have failed to reach fruition. Last month, Bazarian International — a company linked to five-star resorts across the world — was announced as having won the latest contract to redevelop the site.

Parting is such bitter sorrow