Unsafe and polluted

HEART TO HEART

Betty Ann Blaine

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Dear Reader,

The stories may not appear to be connected but they are. The drowning of two teenage boys in Portland and the fire at the Riverton City landfill in Kingston have one important thing in common. They are both stark examples of the negligence and incompetence that have come to characterise the state of the Jamaican society, and every single one of us must take responsibility either for "non-feasance" or malfeasance - for deliberately wrecking the country or for being silent about it.

I'm heartbroken once again about the untimely and unwarranted deaths of two adolescent boys participating in a school trip to St Mary last week. It is simply astounding that in only the second month of a new year, several children have already lost their lives tragically. As far as the two St Andrew College teens are concerned, I can only imagine the grief that their parents and loved ones are feeling, and my personal condolences go out to every one of them. It is unnatural and abnormal for children to die before their parents, and when those deaths come as a result of negligence, the pain must be even greater. I pray that the families and the school community will find the peace in their hearts as they mourn the passing of the children.

In search of solutions, I had a long conversation with the principal of St Andrew College who had difficulty communicating with me as a result of the deep sense of loss he was feeling. He recounted personal stories about Shane and Demel, both of whom he said had been making remarkable improvement in their academic and social lives. The principal told me that only a few weeks ago Shane played a vital role in fetching water for school use when it had none, and that the boy's effort in doing the task was exemplary. He shared with me how important it was to him as principal to build a "school family", especially with the boys, and like so many administrators and teachers I know, finds himself providing material support for his students and their families. I could hear his voice cracking as he described the deep feeling of guilt and pain that the teachers involved in the incident were feeling. "They loved the children," he added.

But there is a broader issue pertaining to the almost complete lack of awareness, policies and practices about safety in the society. In other words, Jamaica is a country that has little regard for safety and for safety measures.

One just has to look around to see how vulnerable the citizens are to both natural and man-made accidents and disasters, and our children, who are the most "at-risk", pay an inordinately high price for our negligence. When a country doesn't appreciate how important it is to do something as rudimentary as painting the pedestrian crossings regularly, and with bright yellow paint that can be clearly seen day or night, then you know that we couldn't care less about the safety of the people, and especially the children.

That public beach where the St Andrew College students drowned had no lifeguard, as is the case with all of the other public beaches. On any weekend and especially on public holidays, throngs of children can be seen at beaches like Hellshire in Kingston, swimming carefree with no lifeguards for protection. With the minimum wage as it is, what would it take to hire lifeguards for the increasingly smaller and smaller number of public beaches in the country?

Additionally, the Ministry of Education must make its policies clear and concise regarding the safety of children on school trips. A communiqué to all schools should read" "No child is allowed to go on school trips, whether by parental permission or not, to any beaches, rivers, lakes, pools or ponds".

Riverton City landfill

The issue of environmental safety also reared its head again with the massive fire that burned for days at the Riverton City landfill in Kingston. The entire Corporate Area and parts of St Catherine were blanketed with thick smoke emanating from the dump.

The Riverton City story can only be described as an ongoing human tragedy of immense proportions, and for which no one seems to be accountable. And the fire last week was not the first of its kind. In 2008 the landfill went up in flames, covering Kingston, St Andrew and parts of St Catherine with heavy smoke, in exactly the same fashion as what transpired last week. Businesses were forced to close and workers were sent home. Many had succumbed to respiratory problems. The chief medical officer at the time warned the Riverton City residents of the variety of pollutants that were being emitted with potentially dangerous effects. The very same warnings were issued last week as the fire raged for six days.

As far as I am concerned, the condition and location of Jamaicans living in Riverton City amounts to an unmitigated crime against humanity. For a housing community to be built beside a solid waste landfill is criminal, and those in leadership should be ashamed at what the citizens have had to endure, including little children, day in and day out.

Given the horrendous state of affairs, the only thing that is surprising is that we don't have more accidents and fatalities every day, and only God can be given the credit for that.

With love,

bab2609@yahoo.com

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Water woes to affect sections of St Catherine and the Corporate Area

Unsafe and polluted