The Editor, Sir:
As a proud resident of St. Thomas, it saddens me to see my parish and its people ravished yearly by disasters, and it is worse when the effects of these disasters could have been minimised. I am sure the rest of Jamaica is tired of hearing that St. Thomas is once again cut off from the rest of the world.
Hurricane Dean was devastating to manyresidents of St. Thomas, but I must admit that 'Ivan' was much worse and many more are left to come. Notwithstanding, no news has surfaced about the long-awaited bridge in Yallahs that should have been started so many times before. However, before we reach Yallahs, let's not forget the many roadways leading from Golden Grove to Bull Bay that are susceptible to flooding, not only because of unsuitable drainage, but a lack of proper protecting walls.
Excellent job
I must commend Irie FM and Zip 103 for maintaining coverage throughout the entire weekend, especially in eastern St. Thomas, where everything else was blank. Bob Clarke kept me going through the storm and the news team did an excellent job of keeping us in the know. Up to Wednesday morning, neither Digicel nor C&W landlines or cellphones had started working. MiPhone has advertised functionality, so maybe they need to extend coverage to eastern St. Thomas to provide us with options. It is only since fighting my way to work have I had access to any of the basic utilities and en route to Kingston, I noticed no repair crews from any utility providers until I reached Harbour View.
Therefore, on behalf of the seemingly 'forgotten' people of St. Thomas, I am making a plea for the quick restoration of roadways, water, electricity, communication and a basic level of living. Too often, communities in St. Thomas have gone without essential utilities for a few months after natural disasters, so I urge all repair crews to work with urgency, as they return a sense of normality to us, hopefully, before the new school term begins.
I am, etc.,
FAY SAMUELS
faysams2002@yahoo.com
Cheswick
St. Thomas
Via Go-Jamaica
