THE BARBADOS WATER AUTHORITY (BWA), and particularly its communication specialist Joy-Ann Haigh, must be commended for responding so swiftly to the pervasive “discussion” of recent days linking a number of deaths to allegations of “lead in our drinking water”.
Again, the country has found itself dealing with the negative fallout from the way some people choose to use that most ubiquitous tool of modern civilisation, the Internet, in a manner that, well intended or not, creates more stress and confusion than it brings tangible benefits.
It is one thing for folks to be curious or even concerned about recent deaths, or perhaps more accurately, reporting on those deaths; it is another for individuals with no academic background or professional experience in any of the relevant areas to post material suggesting that contamination of our water supply might be at the root.
Even worse is when those people would be so reckless as to suggest that the very agency responsible for the provision of a safe water supply to the country is responsible for that supposed contamination. And we should not allow such people to get away with such mischief on the premise that “I’m only asking a question?” Questions skilfully framed by people intent on doing mischief can create far more harm that the point-blank making of a statement.
Let’s be clear. The BWA has over the years invited much criticism of itself by being less than efficient in its operations, resulting in unnecessary hardship for far too many Barbadian households. They are certainly not above scrutiny, but if we are going to accuse them, especially when we clearly understand that the manner in which we do so could create national panic, then we need to pause and take stock.
Given what has taken place in Flint, Michigan, in the United States regarding contamination of the city’s drinking water supply since April 2014, the panic that ensued and the level of local, state and national resources that had to be applied to respond, those who posted the allegations about the BWA should have exercised greater prudence.
But we cannot keep castigating individuals posting such dangerous items on Facebook and other social media sites without admonishing those who read and then repost them to also exercise greater prudence.
By now anyone with the ability to use the Internet should also be aware that a significant portion of what is posted is done by individuals with no knowledge or background in the subjects being presented.
That being the case, users of the Internet owe it to themselves and the others with whom they communicate and share on the Net to apply a higher level of reasoning to what they come across, read and/or manipulate. The beauty of the same Internet is that there are countless sources of trustworthy, scholarly information available with only the tapping of a few keys and the click of a mouse.
We cannot continue to call ourselves sensible and educated, boast about our supposed high level of literacy as well as the extent of Internet penetration vis-à-vis our neighbours and even some First World countries, and then behave as though we are mindless sponges with capacities limited to simply soaking up and then being squeezed out.
Our level of development, what we have been able to achieve with so little, and the number of thinkers we have exported to the world all suggest that it should not be so easy for individuals to generate such panic in our midst so often.
We have to become discerning enough as a society to be able to counter these forays by individuals into our national sense of understanding of matters relating to our welfare.