Mobile Site | About Us | Newsletter

News

Do ‘something’, Mrs Henry-Wilson!

BY KIMONE THOMPSON Features editor - Sunday thompsonk@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, March 14, 2010

THE collective sigh of relief the country breathed last year when the hurricane season brought no systems to the island was perhaps loudest in Jacques Road, off Mountain View Avenue in St Andrew.

In times of severe weather, the people -- many of whom live in old, rickety buildings -- have sought refuge in the community centre but since 2007 when Hurricane Dean tore off the roof, they have been left to the mercy of the elements.

"From the hurricane the centre say so and all now it cyaan fix," said a male resident. "Mrs Webley said she was going to repair it but she not the caretaker anymore so she had to leave it."

Joan Gordon-Webley was the Jamaica Labour Party candidate for the St Andrew South Eastern constituency in the 2007 elections. She however lost the seat to the People's National Party's Maxine Henry-Wilson, the current member of parliament.

However, according to residents, Webley, who gave up the caretaker post when she was appointed head of the National Solid Waste Management Authority in 2007, has done more for them than Henry-Wilson.

"Webley do more fi we than Maxine. She give us chopping out and work like that fi Christmas and Easter. At least she do dat but Maxine nah do nutten," they reveal.

They are so frustrated and angry at what they describe as the MP's neglect that they were planning to stage a protest.

"We did a plan to block the road for the gully and for the centre. Is years di gully stay so. We have five cases ah malaria now and we have plenty children in the community," says a young man who gives his name only as Andre.

"Is we paying dem so how them treating we so?" one of Andre's neighbours asks. "The tax we pay more than mi pay so how come she not doing anything fi we?"

"We can read the paper to. We know that is ($60 million) she get every year," another young man, Kimani, adds.

From Frederick Thompson's perspective, "The place waan build up. The houses old and mash up. The way me picture it, the houses want to be bulldozed an rebuilt. Is eight years I leave Jamaica an' nothing has changed. The houses are the same. Everything is the same. Same old, same old".

Thompson adds that jobs need to be created to build the morale of young people with the "wrong address", to keep people out of crime and to help them earn a living.

"Sometime you see people do some things an is not because they really want do it but is a survival ting," he says, shaking his head.

In Franklin Town, senior citizen Bromelda White's main concern is the coarse manners of young men in the area who play football just outside her house.

"The boys use the corner here to be a playground for ball playing but their language and attitude are not nice. Their mouths are filthy, dirty, nasty. It hurts me very much. The constituency needs a palyground for them," she says.

In addition to that, she laments the inconsistent garbage collection and the deteriorating state of several community roads.

"I came here the fourth of February and is one day last week (two weeks ago) they came to collect it. They need to make the place better for people. When I come here I want to come to someplace decent. We want to live like human beings, not like scavengers.

A business man who goes by the name Fitzie agrees with White about the state of the roads and adds that the number of unemployed young people is too high.

It is perhaps the most pervasive complaint in the constituency, echoing in places like Jacques Road, sections of Vineyard Town, Swallowfield, Woodford Park and the lanes off Slipe Road.

"We don't really have any problems. We only want some work on di lane for di yout dem who leave school," the people of Pryce Lane say.

"We would really like to see some jobs open up fi di young man and woman dem cause nobody nah work pon dah road yah. Di yout dem jus' sit and smoke weed," Mr Barry of Devon Lane says.

For Tameka Shirley, Woodford Park lacks youth clubs, and sporting facilities as well as "some jobs for the young people".

"Crime is not much in the area," says Winston Chin who operates a pet store on Deanery Road in Vineyard Town. "The place is quiet. The only thing is people need work and money."

But, according to Jason Brown, "There is a lack of proper roads. Some of the avenues, like Francis Drive and Friendship Park Avenue, stay bad. It's a good community but it is run down because of a lot of crime and violence over the years."

The police in Vineyard Town say crime in the area has decreased drastically, the level now registering close to the bottom of the risk meter. "Crime is very, very low now," the police tell the Sunday Observer. "It is at gold, indicating low risk."

Green indicates safe areas; yellow, areas of moderate risk; amber, high risk; and black, extra high risk.

According to residents reports, crime is also on the decline, comparatively, in several other communities.

"Things are good. There's no war," Tameka Shirley says of her Woodford Park community.

But she, like other constituents, are upset by what they say is the MP absence from the constituency.

"The MP not visiting di place," Shirley lamented.

"She (Henry-Wilson) nah do nutten," Pryce Lane alleges. "Julian (Robinson, the PNP shoe-in for the next electoral period) do more than her. Is just because we love we party mek we vote fi har."

Adds Devon Lane's Mr Barry: "Mi nuh see that any of them do anything for anybody on this avenue. Not even sweep dem give we work to sweep because dem sey there is no money. We don't just want see the MP when is election time. They must come around before, during and after come talk to we mek we feel good.

"Dem fi show dem face inna di constituency," Dorothy Maxwell of Swallowfield says, adding that jobs for young people was one of the community's major needs.

"We also want proper roads and street light. Fire burn down four or five house on Old Henry Lane about four years ago and from that no more light go up in dere," she says.

As for Stadium Gardens, "There isn't much of a problem where the authorities are concerned. What we do have is a problem with petty thieves and sometimes you come home, open the door and the house just smell (like sewage). That's been going on 20 odd years now," Princess McD laments.

"I see them rectifying it now though, she says, making reference to the work crew who was busy replacing sewage pipes at the entrance of the community where the Housing Agency of Jamaica is putting up new phases.

POST A COMMENT

You must first register and then login to be able to post a comment.

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and before commenting you need to register, conveniently, by clicking the link above.

COMMENTS (5)

David Rodriques
3/14/2010

@Wintson G "Pure Rubish " while in retrospect i must say that another adjective could have been used to describe the piece apart from "rubbish" It represents my great disappointment in the fact that it could have been published in its current fashion. There are certain core principles that should be represented by journalistic work, facts should be presented in a balanced manner and good an true journalism should shy away from putting forward biased or prejudicial perspectives and should set a standard above the tribal political divide , it should not seek to influence public opinion by somewhat producing articles like this one lobbying (openly or covertly) for one side of the divide. When this is done then the work becomes unworthy of journalistic considerations and becomes "rubbished" Hence its value becomes reduced to naught and therefore it can be discarded as such.

Trevor Charlton
3/14/2010

Promises made by the politician to the people who are like fish, no matter how many fishes are caught before as soon as another bait is thrown the fish (people) will bite or swallow the bait.

Winston G
3/14/2010

@ DAVID RODRIQUES
I am not sure I would call the article "pure rubbish", but I do agree with you. This does NOT represent balanced reporting.

David Rodriques
3/14/2010

This article is pure rubbish!!!!!!!, and an abuse of journalistic privileges Are we the readers to assume that Mrs Wilson controls government resources and will fully refuses to help these communities?? where in the article was it said that any effort was made to contact Mrs. Wilson to try and find out if she was indeed doing something?.
It seems that at the effort of being totally bias to a particular political view not even a lackluster effort was made to try to be balance and fair. It is quite offensive to those of us who read with some level of understanding that the Observer could allow such a piece to be published in its current fashion and to hence belittle even more its journalistic reputation.

Clara Brooks
3/14/2010

stop relying on MP to fix where you live. Take matters into your hands and do the right thing.

Did you watch American football's Super Bowl on Sunday?
	Yes, but just for the advertisements
	Yes, just for the game itself
	Yes, for both the game and advertisements
	No, I did not watch the Super Bowl.

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password: