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The Guardian World1 min read
The fight against foreign developers buying Caribbean beaches
TL;DR
Foreign developers are attempting to buy Caribbean beaches, impacting local communities like Barbuda. Former bar owner Miranda Beazer resisted offers for her land after losing her business and home to Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Key points
- Pink Sands Beach Bar was a local community hub in Barbuda.
- Hurricane Irma destroyed the bar and led to the evacuation of Barbudans.
- Miranda Beazer refused offers from foreign developers for her land.
- The community is facing challenges from foreign land purchases.
Mentioned in this story
BarbudaAntigua
Pink Sands Beach Bar
On the small Caribbean island of Barbuda, the Pink Sands Beach Bar played host to locals - and the occasional tourist - for more than 20 years.
"It was a very warm place," says Miranda Beazer, its former owner, describing how people used to gather there to play dominoes, or to relax after church on Sundays.
Named after the rose-tinted sand it stood on, the bar was a cornerstone of the local community, until Hurricane Irma hit the island in 2017, when all of the roughly 2,000 Barbudans were evacuated to sister island, Antigua.
Miranda's bar - and her house - were destroyed. "There's nobody that was unscathed... it was devastating. I cried for two weeks," she says.
Before the bar could be rebuilt, her husband died. Foreign developers started to offer her large amounts of money for her plot - but she refused them all.
"It's not the money that I'm after," Miranda says, "I actually want to retain my land."
Then, the bulldozers came. What remained of the bar after the hurricane was demolished by foreign developers, Miranda alleges.
Since then Miranda has been fighting a legal case to regain access to what she argues is her land.
However, this is complicated by Antigua and Barbuda's property laws.
Land ownership in Barbuda is collective, meaning that individual citizens have the right to occupy a plot of land by applying for a lease, but technically, they do not privately own it. Instead, all land is owned communally, and citizens share the collective right to be consulted and to have the final say on major developments.
The ownership system was established after slavery ended in Barbuda in 1834 and was officially recognised by the government of Antigua and Barbuda in 2007, when the Barbuda Land Act was passed.
Miranda says she owns the lease to 30 acres of coastline, but currently she only has access to eight.
The Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), a network of lawyers that is supporting her, says the rest of the land is being illegally occupied by foreign developers Murbee Resorts and Peace Love and Happiness (PLH).
In a statement, Murbee says that it is a legal lease holder in Barbuda and "has not carried out construction activity on any land for which it does not have legal authority to do so, or at all".
PLH says it "does not and has never" occupied the land, and has "strictly followed" all agreements since entering a lease for land in Barbuda in February 2017.
But Miranda says, like many other Barbudan campaigners, that she remains committed to fighting for access. "If you were to ever come here and experience it yourself, you would really understand why we're so committed to this little piece of rock that we have."
Miranda's land is the last strip of Barbuda's southern coastline that is still accessible to locals.
But like many beaches on islands across the Caribbean where locals are not protected by property laws, it is now under threat from wealthy developers, who want to turn it into an exclusive retreat reserved solely for tourists.
Q&A
What happened to Pink Sands Beach Bar in Barbuda?
The Pink Sands Beach Bar was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017, leading to the evacuation of all Barbudans.
Why are foreign developers interested in Caribbean beaches?
Foreign developers are offering large sums of money for land in the Caribbean, including beaches, to capitalize on tourism and real estate opportunities.
How did Hurricane Irma affect the local community in Barbuda?
Hurricane Irma devastated Barbuda, resulting in the evacuation of its 2,000 residents and destruction of local businesses, including the Pink Sands Beach Bar.
What challenges do locals face against foreign land purchases in Barbuda?
Locals like Miranda Beazer face pressure from foreign developers offering significant money for their land, complicating efforts to rebuild and maintain community ties.
