Sunday, November 5 2006

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect an invitation from the Minister of Housing himself to view the site of the proposed housing development in Chaguaramas – but I did.

However, since our appointment is (at the time of writing) for 2 pm on Thursday, and Newsday’s presses need my column the same day I thought I’d allow readers to write the bulk of this column for me via an e-mail sent me by Danielle Gianetti who, until recently, was a resident of Chaguaramas, and Leslie Craigwell’s letter published in Newsday on November 1.

Then, if space permits, a comment or two of my own in parenthesis and at the end. Danielle Gianetti wrote:

“I read with interest your column in Newsday, as Ian and I were there at the meeting and were two of those ‘Caucasian people’ who were not popular. I believe the e-mail sender was the well-spoken lady from San Fernando who voiced her very clear and valid objections as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. There were indeed raucous shouters from Carenage who yelled ‘we want house!’ and didn’t want outsiders to come in and tell them ‘no houses in Chaguaramas.’

“Most of those who objected kept asking if there were not alternative sites other than Tucker Valley and stressed the practical problems of the overcrowded Western Main Road, the dangers of building on an aquifer that supplied Carenage, Glencoe and Westmoorings, and the general destruction of the environment in this valley. There were no answers, just the repetition that it was a preliminary consultation and had not yet reached the planning stage.

The Farmers’ Association was there – it was Joseph Richardson, President, who produced the newspaper article with floor plans and maps of the houses AND the conceptual plan submitted to and stamped by the EMA for their consideration in order to get a CEC and would further require an environmental impact study.” (Note, anyone passing by the Farmers’ stand can see a copy of these plans for themselves)

“This despite the denial of the Housing Development Company”(Corporation) “that they had any idea of how many houses or even where they would be sited, when questioned by Stephen Cadiz and others.

“The whole meeting was a pappyshow and PR stunt to fool the public that they were being consulted. We were insulted instead!”

Now for Carenage resident Leslie Craigwell’s contribution to this column:

“Early this month at a meeting in Carenage with the residents and the Housing Development Corporation in an effort to solicit views and exchange ideas about the construction of houses for the residents of Chaguaramas,” (Houses for the residents of Chaguaramas? Which residents, I wonder?) “I could not help but notice the infiltration of a non-resident group led by Stephen Cadiz making an appearance at the forum thereby blocking contribution by born and bred residents from seeking their own interests.

“Cadiz does not know anything about Carenage and cannot speak on our behalf. Does he know that north east of the village we once roamed the area of Bain lands called ‘Distree’ where all varieties of mangoes grew and which area is now bulldozed by the rich folks for million-dollar mansions or that a piece of land is upwards of $350,000 which we cannot ever afford? Does he know as everyone else can see, that the mountains have been scarred by bulldozers for those palatial houses thereby destroying the flora and fauna of that once pristine environment and the river we once used to bathe in? Does he know that born and bred residents and descendants of relocated settlers from Chaguaramas are virtually isolated from those lands by virtue of their precarious economic status?

Does he know that second, third and fourth generation children of those descendants have outgrown the land space of Carenage and can no longer accommodate any more houses?

Does he know that it is unfair for us to have to apply for housing as far as Arima and in Central, which can be easily and conveniently made available in Chaguaramas?”(Convenient? What about congestion on the Western Main Road? Especially during construction?)

“My father was born in Tucker valley and my mother was born in Macqueripe 78 years ago. Both are still alive. Does he know how nice it is to be within touching distance with loved ones when those houses are built? Is it that we are not worthy of such prime property?

“If they really care about the environment let them address the cutting away of the mountains in Carenage by the rich folks or the poisoning of the so-called aquifer by the chemicals used by the same farmers which sank into the earth over the years, of the burning of the land without a fire permit that causes bush fires in Chaguaramas decimating acres of animals and trees or the illegal hunting of wildlife in that protected peninsula or the back filling of lands by the sea in Lanse Mitan and Pt Cumana by big shot people.

“Everyone of them has contributed to the very ills they now complain about. Keep your nose out of our affairs Cadiz, you don’t live on the ground like we do. You are not a representative nor spokesman for Carenage residents.”

I wonder – is Chaguaramas the exclusive property of Carenage residents and are they the only citizens of Trinidad to be consulted on a project that must, by its very nature, affect the natural environment of what claims to be (but in reality isn’t) a National Park?

Then, in taking affluent developers to task for cutting hillsides (and in this, I’m with him all the way) he seems to have forgotten squatters who cause as much, if not more environmental degradation because they have not the means to install proper drainage to guard against erosion.

At the very least those who build on hillsides aren’t covering prime agricultural land in concrete – as was done in Valsayn, where Nestle factory and Grand Bazaar are sitting on top of the best agricultural land in TT.

While I could make many more comments, I deem it prudent to wait until I’ve inspected the site (rain permitting) and heard what the Minister has to say (and, maybe, the EMA too – for what that may be worth).