Oh Me Monkey!

I used to worry about the tourists who came off the large floating hotels... I mean ships... that dock at the marvelously scenic Port Zante. Many time I wondered what would be the outcome if one of those monkeys bit a cantankerous visitor. I wondered if these guys had insurance. I wondered other things too, like how did they take care of these animals; whether or not they fed them; how often and with what. Did  these guys know whether or not these monkeys carried any diseases, and if they did, what the diseases were.
 Monkeys in the wild are always grooming each other. I have no way of knowing if the grooming is some sort of monkey foreplay, or if they really found some type of parasite which the eyes of humans are unable to see. These were the kinds of things I wondered whenever I saw tourists off the ships with those creatures on their heads, or shoulders or cradled in their arms.
 Now I am hearing that these monkey marketing people have been forbidden, by law, from doing this monkey business any more. Now all my questions can take a little rest for a little while,  because, knowing how things work in St. Kitts, I expect it won't be very long before the monkeys and their chains begin to reappear at the same spot down Port Zante. If it does not happen, then I will be compelled to change my perspective on how things work in St. Kitts; but we shall see.
 So those questions have temporarily been put at ease, and yet some other questions are starting to nibble at my thoughts: How are those monkey men going to make a living, now? Has anyone thought about that?
 Chasing these poor fellows (mostly) from their monkey market is like tossing  people who are unable to swim from a ship in the middle of the ocean. Some will make it safely to some other economic shore, but others will find ways that will certainly lead them to HMP( Her Majesty's Prison). About that too we shall see.
 I am hoping for the day to come when we care more about our people. I am longing for a time when we begin to realize that people must eat. There is no doubt that there is a market for photos with monkeys on people's shoulders. The tourists are trusting and happy to return home and show off these photos. It is exciting to them. The market exists, but it takes a caring nation to ensure that things are done right and fair to all involved: the monkey men, the monkeys and the visitor. Unfortunately these things require thought, and we hate to think. It is far easier to chase away the monkey men so they could go home eat their monkey.