SXMElections.com

MIDDLE REGION--A young couple is left homeless after their new, quickly but illegally built wooden home was bulldozed on Tuesday by one of the many distant relatives of the land’s original owner. A woman identified by different sources as Diana Bryson had the house bulldozed, rather than having to go through the courts to have the two removed from the location.

Glendon White and his girlfriend Kayon Russel were called by neighbours and rushed home from work to find the house being destroyed. As it turns out, according to a very hesitant invited comment by land caretaker and heir George Scott, who leased them the land, the lease was temporary and it was meant for container storage, not for a home.

Either way, Scott strongly opposed the illegal destruction of the home, and Russel who also spoke to The Daily Herald, still visibly upset by the loss, said that whatever the circumstances, Bryson needed to go through the court and had no right to simply bulldoze someone’s house. 

Video footage taken by witnesses showed part of the event playing out. Pictures also showed a broken-up concrete foundation, an unliveable structure open to the elements, and half the zinc roof collapsed. Furniture and appliances could be seen inside and amongst the rubble.

Russel said they started being harassed as soon as they moved in. They were reportedly approached by Public Works, who said that since they had already moved in, Bryson would have to go to court to have them removed.

Shortly afterward, Immigration Officers allegedly went into the house after being told that the two were illegal, destroying a window in the process. The boyfriend then reportedly went to the police department to prove that he was legal. They both are legally on the island, Russel said.

Demolition

On Tuesday, according to Russel, Scott and other witness accounts to this newspaper, a first bulldozer brought to the scene eventually refused to destroy the house after witnesses protested and Bryson could not provide documentation proving the land was hers.

However, she reportedly left and returned with another bulldozer approximately 45 minutes later, which carried out the job.

A witness called the Police Department, and the bulldozer stopped after two policemen arrived. However, the damage had already been done. Witnesses said they were surprised to not see any statements taken.

Legalities

When contacted, Acting Police spokesperson Inspector Steven Carty said that in such a case, the police would ask the person demolishing for a court order, and if this could not be provided, the process would have to stop.

Russel said that she filed a police report on Wednesday, when she spoke to this newspaper, but it was too soon for Carty to be able to confirm or be familiar with the case because it would not yet have been processed when he was contacted on the same day.

The official police report was not available in time for publication, but this newspaper heard the same account through a number of witnesses. This newspaper had no means of reaching Bryson.

Carty said that the couple was likely asked for more documentation when they reported the incident, before the police took further decisions.

However, Carty could say according to some details given, that it would likely have to be handled by the Civil Court. Someone wanting to remove a structure also should have gone through the Civil Court, regardless of whether the structure had been completed with a roof or not. He also pointed out that building permits are not issued for wooden structures, in an invited comment.

However, since the couple’s belongings were destroyed, they would most likely have to be compensated for their belongings, at least.

According to Russel, Scott and other witness accounts, Bryson has had other partially-built structures, at least three, bulldozed before. Another person was reportedly taking her to court, but backed down.

Scott explained that the complication arises because there are many heirs to the land, which was originally bought between 1885 and 1887 by his great-great-grandmother. He was able to provide a Government-issued family tree to show this.

According to the same document, the original owner is Bryson’s great-great-great grandmother, through acknowledgement of her mother by her grandfather.

Scott also said that ironically, although Bryson lays claim to the land to keep any tenants out, she is paying rent for her house on the same large area of land bought originally. What’s more, the house is on land that he himself leased out to someone else. He is sure that by now, she has “figured that out,” he said in response to the question.

Uniforms

Scott said that Bryson is the only one known to cause trouble amongst the known heirs, and calls the police often. Recently, a policeman reportedly told him that he would submit a report to Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI, but when Scott requested the report at the police department, he was told that no report had been filed.

He was also told, allegedly by Chief of Police de Witte, that land-disputes are not for police involvement, and that a lawyer should be approached. Inspector Carty also indicated that the police do not resolve land disputes, when contacted by this newspaper.

However, Scott said that even since then, the police have been called by Bryson, and it is always the same officers who respond. She allegedly left Scott’s house last time by police car, which also struck him as strange.

The different witnesses also questioned why two uniformed Immigration Officers accompanied Bryson on Tuesday when she ordered the structure to be demolished.

Witnesses think that they were not directly involved, but say that they accompanied her for both tries, and may have been there to prevent fighting.

Russel and other witnesses, looking defeated, said they questioned whether Bryson is above the law.