Dear Editor,
I read in the Tuesday’s edition of the SN an article entitled ‘Country prepared for December/January rainy season – Ramsammy.’
However, my mind goes back to a few weeks ago when my neighbours built a concrete wall to demarcate their property and to prevent uninvited persons from entering their premises. While the construction was in progress, I pointed out to both the builders and the owners the need to clear all builders’ waste and other stuff including logs, tree trunks, concrete blocks, branches from trees and other debris from the drain that separates their property and our walkway.
Now, I am the Pastor of Maranatha Ministries International, the only church that I know of located in Quamina Street between Camp and Thomas Streets. We have weekday services and our regular Sunday morning services; the members and friends of this fellowship have to access the church building through a long passageway alongside the alley. We have weddings and functions of various kinds from time to time, and whenever the rains fall heavily there is a flooded walkway that we have to deal with. The more objects one throws in the drain, the more the water inundates the passageway, thus making it almost impossible to access the church building. One of our neighbours (the main culprit) told me that when the church stops their praises and singing of songs, then he will hire someone to clear the drain of his tree trunk, concrete blocks and builder’s waste.
Soon it will be Christmas and the church has been singing carols for decades, so I don’t see how we can stop now.
This is an atrocious act perpetrated on a place of worship, and to know that these acts are encouraged by rich and powerful neighbours in the community is unthinkable. These are people with great wealth who live in large buildings. One of these buildings takes up half a block and is four stories high, all solid concrete.
In the construction of the wall in question, that was done last year, they left a massive amount of builders’ waste which could help a small man erect a wall for a one-bedroom apartment. To deal with the drain is easy, but to deal with the mind of the rich and famous is another thing; I never cease to wonder the way some people think and behave.
Maybe the rich and the famous gravitate to the mantra of past President Dr B Jagdeo: “Don’t worry about potholes and blocked drains but look at the big picture.”
Yours faithfully,
Vanrick Beresford