Dear Editor,
It is now 12 weeks since I got the chikungunya virus. I had to stay home for five days after visiting the doctor and the pharmacy.
Up to today, I still experience serious joint pains all over my body. Before the virus I had no pains in any of my joints or any other part of my body.
The joint pains I now experience cause great discomfort. Every morning I get up I am unable to move freely. After sitting for a while, I stand with much difficulty. The same after driving for over an hour.
Plus, my fingers are all swollen and I am unable to grasp anything, much less manoeuvring a pen to write properly. My sex life is totally shot as the persistent pains all over the body result in a psychological turned off feeling, which I consider a very serious matter.
I continue to listen to the pathetic sad stories and excuses being given by the minister of health and his spokespersons and count the number of people that I know who are still experiencing joint pains from CHIKV. Not the mention the number of deaths by people who have suffered CHIKV — said to be from complications.
When I heard that our Government was made aware that this dangerous virus was on the way at a conference hosted right here in Jamaica by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) more than two years ago I was shocked. This is the same Government who, every general election, uses slogans such as “Power for the People”, (1972), “We put People First” (1989), “People First” (1992) (1997), “People Power” (2007) (2011) and so on, giving people the impression that they care about them.
If this is how this Government cares for its people by doing nothing, then I wouldn't like to think how many of us would have died from this virus if they didn't care. Our nearest neighbour, which is much larger than us in geographical size and population, Cuba, who also had a few representatives at that conference, took necessary precautions and now has zero mosquitoes and hence zero CHIKV. The other countries that were present also took actions to protect their citizens from the virus, whilst ours did essentially nothing.
Considering all this, and considering all the pain and suffering which myself and much of our population has experienced, I am of the opinion that a team of bright lawyers should get together and bring a class action suit against the Government for the misery and grief which it has caused its people. I believe it is the result of the incompetence of a wicked and uncaring Government, who abdicated its fiduciary responsibility to the people.
Winston L Maragh, OD, JP
Councillor, Rocky Point Division
wmaragh@hotmail.com.
It is now 12 weeks since I got the chikungunya virus. I had to stay home for five days after visiting the doctor and the pharmacy.
Up to today, I still experience serious joint pains all over my body. Before the virus I had no pains in any of my joints or any other part of my body.
The joint pains I now experience cause great discomfort. Every morning I get up I am unable to move freely. After sitting for a while, I stand with much difficulty. The same after driving for over an hour.
Plus, my fingers are all swollen and I am unable to grasp anything, much less manoeuvring a pen to write properly. My sex life is totally shot as the persistent pains all over the body result in a psychological turned off feeling, which I consider a very serious matter.
I continue to listen to the pathetic sad stories and excuses being given by the minister of health and his spokespersons and count the number of people that I know who are still experiencing joint pains from CHIKV. Not the mention the number of deaths by people who have suffered CHIKV — said to be from complications.
When I heard that our Government was made aware that this dangerous virus was on the way at a conference hosted right here in Jamaica by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) more than two years ago I was shocked. This is the same Government who, every general election, uses slogans such as “Power for the People”, (1972), “We put People First” (1989), “People First” (1992) (1997), “People Power” (2007) (2011) and so on, giving people the impression that they care about them.
If this is how this Government cares for its people by doing nothing, then I wouldn't like to think how many of us would have died from this virus if they didn't care. Our nearest neighbour, which is much larger than us in geographical size and population, Cuba, who also had a few representatives at that conference, took necessary precautions and now has zero mosquitoes and hence zero CHIKV. The other countries that were present also took actions to protect their citizens from the virus, whilst ours did essentially nothing.
Considering all this, and considering all the pain and suffering which myself and much of our population has experienced, I am of the opinion that a team of bright lawyers should get together and bring a class action suit against the Government for the misery and grief which it has caused its people. I believe it is the result of the incompetence of a wicked and uncaring Government, who abdicated its fiduciary responsibility to the people.
Winston L Maragh, OD, JP
Councillor, Rocky Point Division
wmaragh@hotmail.com.