Dear Editor,

The following is an open letter to Member of Parliament Fayval Williams and Councillor Venesha Phillips:

We, the Papine Street Vendors Association, write to inform you of constant police harassment that we have been facing for some time now and which we think should be brought to an end.

First, our vending activities pose no health risks, do not impede the flow of traffic or free movement of pedestrians.

We keep the vending area clean and require no National Solid Waste Management Authority clean-up.

We chose to operate outside of the market because of limited space and, of course, there is recent fire damage.

We are doubtful that the space that we have claimed to carry on our activities fall within the legal purview of the Kingtson and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, even though near to the Papine Market.

Police harassment includes illegal seizure and destruction of our goods or simply theft (sic), and this we believe is illegal, unacceptable and unconstitutional.

The police, to our knowledge, have no authority independent of a court order to remove anyone from the street who is not in violation of the Road Traffic Act. This arbitrary and violent act on the part of the police must be brought to an end. Our rights as citizens must be respected.

We therefore call upon you both to act decisively to stop this abuse so that we may be allowed to make an honest living and send our children to school. We are not criminals.

Marcel Kelly & Elaine Legore

Convenors

Papine Street Vendors Association

marcelkelly32@gmail.com