Concerned residents took to the local social media circuit today to appeal to Bermuda’s public to take part in a peaceful protest against the new COVID restrictions announced by the Bermuda Government on Saturday.
The social media post published on Facebook as a public service announcement calls on residents to forward the message “across the whole Bermuda”, urging them “to take part in a silent peaceful protest on Wednesday March 24th against the new curfew restrictions put in place”.
“We will peacefully sit outside cabinet building starting at 10:30pm and we will do this everyday until we are heard. Please wear masks and prepare to social distance.”
The post goes on to say: “This time the set back is purely about controlling us. We’ve been on restrictions for a whole year and we’ve done nothing but complied. We need to find a balance so we can get back to some type of normalcy!
“We don’t agree nor do we understand why these time restrictions are set in place. Furthermore the restrictions will be in place for 3 weeks. When will this end? Every time cases rise and government feel they’re losing the handle they’re going to condemn us to more restrictions?
“This is unfair to our Bermudian owned businesses who don’t have outside seating arrangements for their patrons. All this government seems to do is cater to front street businesses. The whole pandemic every bar on front street has had more than its limit. While the clubs in the back of town are counting patrons walking on eggshells to not be shut down. Why must they shut down and lose revenue when they’ve been strictly abiding by the “rules”. It’s unfair to play with peoples livelihood as such. What happens to the workers who have just went back to work at these establishments? Where will their next pay check (sic) come from? This initiative the government is pushing is solely about controlling us and containing us.”
No word yet on the organisers who say they are “concerned residents”, who also called on the Government to “shut down our airport if you feel there’s such a threat”
“All we are doing is inviting ‘new variants’ but we wouldn’t close down the airport. And the government make it seem as if they are worried about our health.”
The post also states: “Regarding the restrictions put in place over the past weekend – there’s no way that we can continuously sit and accept being herded by the wolves in sheep clothing.”
It also lists three questions:
1. The curfew would now be from 11pm until 5am (what is ONE hour preventing?)
2. Clubs and bars will be prohibited from serving patrons indoors, and outdoor service is for table service only (who is this catering to? If bars can offer table service, why must they close?)
3. Restaurants, bars and clubs are permitted a maximum of 6 persons at any one table (so restaurants can be at full capacity but we can only gather with 10 ppl)
The statement concludes: “We stood up for Black Lives Matter. We stood up against Rizzuto. We walked and supported the LGBT community. It’s time to stand up for ourselves and our own people.
“This time the set back is purely about controlling us. We’ve been on restrictions for a whole year and we’ve done nothing but complied. We need to find a balance so we can get back to some type of normalcy!
“We don’t agree nor do we understand why these time restrictions are set in place. Furthermore the restrictions will be in place for three (3) weeks. When will this end? Every time cases rise and government feel they’re losing the handle they’re going to condemn us to more restrictions?
“This is unfair to our Bermudian owned businesses who don’t have outside seating arrangements for their patrons. All this government seems to do is cater to front street businesses. The whole pandemic every bar on front street has had more than its limit. While the clubs in the back of town are counting patrons walking on eggshells to not be shut down. Why must they shut down and lose revenue when they’ve been strictly abiding by the ‘rules’. It’s unfair to play with peoples livelihood as such. What happens to the workers who have just went back to work at these establishments? Where will their next pay check come from ? This initiative the government is pushing is solely about controlling us and containing us.
“Shut down our airport if you feel there’s such a threat. All we are doing is inviting “new variants” but we wouldn’t close down the airport. And the government make it seem as if they are worried about our health.”
This is what we are standing up for:
1. We want this curfew lifted.
2. We want indoor bars back to how they were with sit down service.
3. We want funerals to a respectable number!
“If you’re Bermudian and you want to stand up for something. This is your chance. If you’re a business owner who has been effected by this, this is your chance to stand up. If you’ve lost your job due to this. This is your time to stand up.
