An incident during the Vieux Fort Carnival on Sunday where a woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries, has prompted a new call for responsible enjoyment during such events.
Saint Lucia Fire Service (SLFS) emergency responders rushed the woman to St. Jude Hospital after she got in the way of a sound truck, resulting in body and face abrasions.
The vehicle nearly ran over her.
Chelsa Jongue is the public relations officer for the Carnival Planning and Management Committee (CPMC), responsible for Saint Lucia Carnival.
However, each community puts on its own event.
Nevertheless, Jongue told St. Lucia Times that the CPMC works closely with the communities to establish standards and deliver a good product experience.
“Safety is always a concern,” the CPMC official explained.
Jongue recalled that one of the focus areas for Lucian Carnival was responsible enjoyment.
She observed that Carnival is a time for revelry and excitement.
But Jongue noted that sometimes people can forget their responsibility to protect themselves and others around them.
“The incident yesterday drives home the importance of our own responsibility to take care of ourselves, not just for Lucian Carnival but on the whole, no matter where you are,” the CPMC official stated.
“You have a responsibility to enjoy yourself, but doing so in a manner that does not result in bodily harm or any other kind of harm,” Jongue said, adding that she was happy that a major tragedy did not occur in Vieux Fort.
“Unfortunately, we have incidents like these now and then. It’s really for us to now look and even when these incidents happen, whether it is minor or major, it’s important for us as organisers to look at it and to see how it does not become something major and even at the Lucian Carnival level, we will endeavour to do the same,” she told St. Lucia Times.
You all will stop doing shate with yourselves on the road. Look now you have trauma for the rest of your life for something so unnecessary like a headstund. You almost lost your life for the sake of showing everybody gymnastics and a stunt show with no formal training. Torneh!
Wow…under a music truck while jumping up in crowd next to the said truck…..hmm what are the odds?
They have to make a new policy cause one person. Choose be foolish. Wha a world we leave In
It’s a simple case of blatant irresponsiblity. Still, given the number of carnival events held over the years in Saint Lucia, the odds that it has gone rather well is really a testament to the planners and the masses enjoying themselves responsibly. If adults can’t make informed decisions and assess the given situation during their revelry, then of course, you will obviously have such occurrences. You play stupid games, you win stupid prices. Simple. I wish the reveller a speedy recovery. Lesson hopefully learnt and won’t happen again.
Once there’s alcohol safety is out the door.
We learn from our mistakes,each one teach one 🇱🇨 St Lucia nice 😍
When is Choiseul, Laborie and Praslin carnival?
Too much bacchanal, go to church and pray.
That’s what happens when a little island wants to have 100 carnival days. Why don’t they all just jump during the 2 national carnival days. Noooo. They want to expose their %$# and try some more stunts. Smh
“But now,O God, what can we say after this ?
For we have disregarded the commande you gave through your servants, when you said :
The land is poulluted by the corruption of its people –
By their destestable practices they have filled it with unpurity from one end to the other Ezra 9v10 ..to be…