The story of the Club Med squatter who went to the World Cup in Trinidad is now widely known — but people spoken to by The Royal Gazette claimed not to know of anyone who had made the trip.

And at least one resident at the derelict St. George's hotel did not know what all the fuss was about.

She said: "If I wanted to get on a flight and go to Trinidad for the cricket, why can't I? What's the big deal about it? I can't see what the point is." The woman did not want to be identified.

In a speech on Monday, Premier Ewart Brown said some people, including some residents at Club Med, claimed to be impoverished yet were still spending their money on lavish things — like a trip to an international cricket event.

In a brief interview yesterday, the Premier pointed out, as he did on Monday, that the country-hopping squatter was a rare and individual case.

But he also provided further perspective. He said: "That story probably represents an aberration, but it tells me that in Bermuda, sometimes poverty is relative. And sometimes Bermudians who consider themselves poor have a different order of priorities."

At the Progressive Labour Party forum in Hamilton Parish on Monday the Premier gave a talk on what he perceived to be a worrying trend among members of the public who want Government handouts.

He remarked that some at Club Med were in genuine need of assistance, but others seemed to be taking advantage of the situation.

The Premier said at the meeting: "Minister Burch told me that while we were in Trinidad I should look for a certain individual — a fellow who was living at Club Med.

"This is a true story. Minister Burch said 'the guy locked his door at Club Med, left a note saying when he would be back and told his mother to look out for his two sons because he was on his way to cricket'.

"That's a Bermudian squatter?

"When it gets like that, we need to stop and take stock. There's something wrong with squatting at Club Med and going to cricket. We cannot tolerate that."

The Premier followed up yesterday by saying: "It's an individual case. And his situation, I'm sure, is not representative of the people there. And my telling of the story was not meant to say that. It did not say that. And any distortion of that would be most unfair."

Three Club Med residents agreed to talk with The Royal Gazette>during a visit to the property yesterday. All three claimed not to know anyone living in the complex who recently left for Trinidad.

One woman who was pushing a toddler in a stroller said: "I don't know who would do that and I know everybody down here."

Another woman questioned the Premier's motive for telling the story in the first place.

She said: "He's trying to get the public to think that we down here at Club Med aren't responsible — that we don't want to have any participation in our lives.

"That may be some people, but for this woman, that's not my issue. My issue is I just need a house, a roof over my head, somewhere to rest comfortably at night. I'm not looking for no fight with the Government. I'm just looking for a place to stay."

The Minister of Housing announced last week that Club Med squatters properly registered with the Bermuda Housing Corporation will be moved to either the Wyndham Resort property or to the Pembroke Rest Home. Moving day is this Friday and everyone must go.

Last Friday Minister Burch, Dr. Brown and Housing Minister Dennis Lister visited Club Med and officials delivered official notices to vacate the premises. The notices say if people do not leave they face Supreme Court prosecution.

On the visit to Club Med last week the Premier said: "It was what I expected. The Minister had reported to Cabinet exactly what I saw when I got there. And I just wanted to see it for myself and let the people see me there to let them know that I was aware of their situation and concerned about it."

A woman who encountered the Premier on the visit said: "I want to leave as peacefully as I came. I told the Premier that when I talked to him face to face off the veranda. And he said: 'Do you work?' He's not even saying: 'Ma'am are you okay?'

"It wasn't personal contact, it was business. If we really mattered they would have come talk to us. That's what's offensive to me."

Yesterday people could be seen packing boxes and emptying closets in preparation for the move.