Dear Editor,
Clovis's cartoon 'I can't breathe' reminds me of the term used after the awful killing of an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, on the streets of New York. He was put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer and Garner never had a chance.
There is more than one way to suffocate our people. Like Garner, the many adults and children who had to be taken to emergency rooms or clinics never had a chance against the smoke. For many years, poor management of the Riverton dump left the area exposed and accessible by many, some of whom, it is alleged, lit the fire deliberately and for reasons explained easily by all those who are in the know and the vicinity.
Here, there is no need for a physical chokehold as we have a high probability of a fire being started at a dump -- deliberately or otherwise -- that is sure to place a chokehold on citizens. The Government also 'suffocates' people when they make pronouncements that there will be no harmful effects of the soot before all the testing and time has passed. Seeing it fit to say that there will be no long-term effects from the Riverton fire is careless at best, and dishonest at worst. It is high time we learn from premature announcements.
I hope that one day the powers that be will start listening to all the stakeholders who were talking, writing, begging and beseeching for action regarding Jamaica's waste management. It hurts us physically and economically when we fail to be proactive.
Sandra M Taylor Wiggan
sandra_wiggan@yahoo.co.uk
We're in a chokehold
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Clovis's cartoon 'I can't breathe' reminds me of the term used after the awful killing of an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, on the streets of New York. He was put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer and Garner never had a chance.
There is more than one way to suffocate our people. Like Garner, the many adults and children who had to be taken to emergency rooms or clinics never had a chance against the smoke. For many years, poor management of the Riverton dump left the area exposed and accessible by many, some of whom, it is alleged, lit the fire deliberately and for reasons explained easily by all those who are in the know and the vicinity.
Here, there is no need for a physical chokehold as we have a high probability of a fire being started at a dump -- deliberately or otherwise -- that is sure to place a chokehold on citizens. The Government also 'suffocates' people when they make pronouncements that there will be no harmful effects of the soot before all the testing and time has passed. Seeing it fit to say that there will be no long-term effects from the Riverton fire is careless at best, and dishonest at worst. It is high time we learn from premature announcements.
I hope that one day the powers that be will start listening to all the stakeholders who were talking, writing, begging and beseeching for action regarding Jamaica's waste management. It hurts us physically and economically when we fail to be proactive.
Sandra M Taylor Wiggan
sandra_wiggan@yahoo.co.uk
We're in a chokehold
-->