Helpless and
Uncertain times for St Thomas communities after collapse of main road
SIMONE MORGAN-LINDO
STAR Writer R ed mud hugged Donna Emmanuel-Mitchell’s feet, flashing even on her black pants as she made her way, drenched in perspiration, along the Mango Row main road in St Thomas.
She was heading to Albion Mountain, and still had another four miles to walk.
Emmanuel-Mitchell was forced to take on the journey barefooted as the straps of her slippers burst. Her legs trembled with each step. She took deep breaths and exhaustion was evident on her face, but Emmanuel-Mitchell had no plans to take a rest stop. She wanted to reached home before dark.
Trodding approximately five miles from Bethel Gap is nothing new to Emmanuel-Mitchell as the market vendor usually makes the trip at least three times per week. She says that chartered taxis sometimes travel to the hilly community, but the cost is exorbitant — $2,500 for the fare.
Wednesday’s journey was unlike others. Her ankles were swollen, probably a result of walking barefooted on the rocky roads resembling a riverbed as a result of damage inflicted by recent heavy rainfalls.
“Right now, a whole heap a energy it a take me to walk the journey, and right now mi foot dem a shake and a wobble, and mi heart a pump outa mi body. Mi never know seh road coulda look terrible suh. Yuh see all round which part mi a go, the trench dem wide to di point dats if mi lie down in there, yuh can just cover mi and people nuh see mi nuh more,” she said.
Although it has not received much national attention, the effects of last weekend’s heavy rains on roads in the area has been as bad, or even worse than some of the most effected places.
A massive section of the roadway in Mount Vernon Gap has fallen into a precipice, leaving a narrow pathway for brave pedestrians.
Emmanuel-Mitchell, a mother of eight, told that she was on her way from Trinityville where she went to collect her son’s PATH contribution, which she said will assist her in purchasing a much-needed tablet for him.
As the news team accompanied her for a few minutes, Blossom Patterson, a resident of Mango Row, was overcome with emotion. She stated that she had been crying earlier.
She believes that her community has been forgotten by the authorities because they were so ‘far in’. Using a stick to balance herself on the rocky road, she said she and others have been suffering because they have been marooned for days.
“This morning (Wednesday), mi husband tell mi say him nuh want mi go a Bellevue, but mi feel like mi a mad. Mi a mad because mi wah go buy food fi put inna mi house but mi can’t move because I cannot walk on the little brink that is left of the road,” she said.
To make matters worse, Patterson
said she is extremely worried about her ailing husband who she said is suffering from bone cancer and is currently bedridden.
“This morning (Wednesday), he wasn’t feeling too good and he cannot walk. I need to take him to the doctor and I can’t, because nuh road nuh deh here. Mi likkle grandson is 10 months and him run outa feeding and Pampers,” she said.
The complaints are similar all residents, who said there is an alternative route, but that, too, has been blocked by debris. They got a glimmer of hope after the Jamaica Public Service Company restored electricity on Wednesday, after being without the commodity for days.
The residents mostly depend on farming, especially coffee reaping, for a source of income. However, their present crop has been destroyed by the torrential rains and, for those persons who had already reaped their coffee, they are unable to travel the road to make a sale. An elderly woman stated that she says a prayer for her community members every night.
“Every time mi lay down inna mi bed and hear people a pass, mi start pray because yuh just don’t know if the road a go give way and dem disappear. The place stay bad and mi really worried because, years ago, there was a house here whe is a good ting the people dem never sleep there the night, because the following morning when dem disappear, is just the spot everyone see. There was a landslide the night and not even a piece of concrete we see. Mi a pray something like this nuh happen again,” she said.