Let me start by telling you guys a little story, then I will get to what I am saying.
So, one day I was sitting down on a bench at the airport. A couple passed by (tourist heading back). They smiled at me and said "hello" and I said "hey" back. I wasn't really feeling that "hey" I had said because of how my week was going. I was tired, exhausted and basically over the two week job I was on (Which I was thankful to have). The guy passed back and he was smiling big. I was wondering to myself if he felt that happy or was it because it was the type of person he is. When he passed back the second time he cracked a joke about wearing out the pavement and I just looked at him and laughed, and said "Your probably are".
Not the end of the story but....
You know what he did for me that day? He cheered me up until I was invigorated to go in and work harder at my job, which was handing out surveys. Some days we go to a job that is constant interaction with people and we feel like "I can't take putting on a smile today,with some people being so rude"
I went back to handing out surveys and when I got to where they were sitting inside I handed them a survey and they did it because they said "We will do it because you are so nice". I laughed and thanked them and while they were filling it out we got to talking and they told me how they walked up and down Longbay beach, everyday, and the trash they saw lying around. Bottles, cans, a boat railing (which he dragged from on the beach to the trash) and other garbage. They also told me how they took to carrying a shopping bag to pick up as they went along. I was so embarrassed to hear that they had to do that on their vacation here. I told them that we were trying to change that for the better with our surveys. When they finished the survey I went to the next person and as I stood in front of them I realized I did not tell them thank you. So I went right back over and said "thank you very much for what you did, cleaning up our beach". They said it was not any trouble at all and that they loved everything about the island and they wish that we would do something about keeping the beaches clean. Then the guy suggested we put a trash can every thirty feet or so, that when locals and tourists go to the beach to have a picnic or a party or whatever that they have somewhere to throw the trashes that is close by. I really thought on that and I believe that what they said hold some merit.
We live in a day in age when a garbage reciprocal isn't close for some people or even right in front of us we throw in on the ground and that has become a common practice everywhere! Not only here. But if we realize that this country strives on mainly tourism then we will try to keep tourism flowing. Yes, they do come here, but how do we keep them here. They come here for the beautiful island, our food (which some now shove out the restaurants with hardly any taste and overly high cost) and our beaches (which some hotels misinform the tourist so they would not leave the grounds and visit local attractions but instead to spend money in there vicinity).
I said all of that so this. This is OUR country, Turks Islanders. Does not matter if you were born here or not. Which we should love, protect and NOT neglect. I know sometimes situations and circumstances make it hard to even look at this place, but we must realize that this country has potential to be something. One generation does not last forever. A new generation can come and bring fresh ideas, fresh changes and brand new starts.
If there is any business or home owners reading this listen to this idea,
Do not wait for volunteers to clean up and then when it gets dirty the next day you leave it as so. Take this task and clean the area in front of your building. Say you are the owner of IGA. If you take to making sure every bottle or can or trash is moved from the front of your establishment meeting up the road and the houses across from you make sure their property does the same thing meeting up to the road, then that just leaves the road itself to be kept clean. Now the government. If you make sure that the middle point which is the road is kept clean then all three persons would have had done their part.Also, if the fines would be enforced on those that have parties at their establishment or business things would begin to change. My mother would have to clean in front of her yard every few days after persons visit an establishment across the road and park and throw trash right there. Businesses need to take responsibility for some of these things. Do not wait on the public. That was just an example of what we all can do to help keep our area clean. If motorist see anyone deliberately dumping trash on or alongside the road then do your part in taking pictures of the action and sending it to the police.
Thank you guys for reading this.
"We are beautiful by nature"
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