You would think dat by now, after all the years of begging and beseeching people tuh stop the lot o’ dumping, it would stop and people would be more aware and concerned of their surroundings and more so duh health, but it looks like nuh matter what anybody say, duh got some people who just ain’t care ’bout a boy – dem gine put out dah garbage whenevah and wherevah it suits dem.
Sometimes I wonder what does be going through some people heads, how duh does feel when duh see the garbage pile up round dem all the time. Duh like duh doan care ’bout the rats, the mosquitoes nor the flies dat it does attract. The thing is, these people does have children playing around the place and who could easily pick up some o’ all kinds o’ diseases. But it looks like as long as it ain’t in at dem, dem ain’t care who it affects, until it affects dem. Then all of a sudden ya does hear dem blaming the Sanitation people.
Look, nuh matter how you try tuh tell some people dat dumping garbage – it could be up there in St Thomas, St Joseph, or Cave Hill fuh dat matter – could and does affect people living in the low-lying areas if it rains, it doan seem tuh matter tuh dem one bit. Some people doan seem tuh get it dat from the time the rainy season starts, the water does push down evahthing and because o’ the lot o’ junk dat people dump, the drains and watercourses does be blocked up, causing all kinds o’ flooding and discomfort tuh poor people living in these low-lying areas.
Talking ’bout people who just doan care! You could imagine dat in this day and age some people does still be drinking drinks and throwing the bottles pon the ground? Eating outta a container and dropping the napkins or the foil or food container pon the ground? And worst, throwing all sorts o’ things out through the bus, ZR and mini bus windows?
I ain’t gine tell ya nuh lie: the other morning I was driving behind a minibus going down Black Rock road. It was about twenty tuh seven, when all of a sudden I see a styrofoam cup come flying out through the window pon the left hand side o’ the bus and by the time the minibus get tuh Eagle Hall, a small styrofoam food container this time, fly out the other side, right in the middle o’ the road. All I could do was blow my horn but it didn’t matter tuh a soul, the bus just blow and went long down the road.
Duh ought tuh be a law against this sort o’ thing and the people who like tuh pelt duh stuff out through the bus windows should be charged. But who gine charge dem? Another thing, the drivers of these public service vehicles should be held responsible fuh the passengers who get on pon their buses wid any kind o’ food and drinks. I see some buses wid signs on dem saying no eating or drinking in duh vans. Dat sort o’ thing should be in every single van. Dat way nuhbody won’t have anything tuh throw out through the windows in the roads.
I doan know how we expect tuh have a healthy, clean environment if we allow people tuh keep dumping as duh like and all we continue tuh do is talk ’bout it all the time. When duh get serious and start charging people fuh dumping all sorts o’ things ’longside the road, Barbados will again be dat healthy, clean li’l island dat it used tuh be.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
