Forgotten And Dispossessed

THE EDITOR:
WHEN Kenny D. Anthony and the SLP refer to the dispossessed, one tries so hard to understand where they are coming from when the residents of Micoud, Praslin and Savannes Bay continue to suffer under the grave environmental issue of seaweed which has remained on the coastline of these areas for the past 12 months.

The Prime Minister to the best of our knowledge drives along that route at least once a week and there is no doubt whatsoever, that he has not witnessed the awful stench. Our French sister island which suffers from the same awful conditions, their health authorities have concluded that this odour is extremely dangerous to the health of the residents.

Is our Prime Minister in denial, careless or simply does not give a damn? The residents of these areas are simply requesting that a backhoe be sent to the area immediately and remove this hazard. The dried and decayed sea moss should be placed in an area away from the residential communities and buried. We now call upon the authorities to do what is right to protect the health of the dispossessed and underprivileged that the Prime Minister so often pretends to support.

Whist on the subject of environmental issues it should be noted that over 12 years the Choiseul village remains under environmental siege based upon the fact that the sea wall constructed by the Government of Japan for the Fishing Complex has virtually sealed off the entrance and exit points by way of ocean drift resulting in the inner basin retaining all the contaminated runoff from the village.

Concerned Citizens