Carolyn Cooper | Papine Market dump gets a mini facelift

Thank God for local government elections! It seems as if in the runup to tomorrow’s clash between Green and Orange, the Papine Market dump got some attention from the powers that be. Incidentally, we simply must find a way to remove the stigma of politics from these innocent colours. The elegant uniform of my high school, St Hugh’s, had to be changed from green in the mid 1990s because of political tribalism.

Then, I remember going to one of Sister P’s inaugurations in a lime green dress. The shade wasn’t even the standard Labourite green. But that subtlety was lost on a well-intentioned friend who gave me what she seemed to think was a compliment: “Only you could have the courage to come to a function like this in green!” Words to that effect! But it wasn’t a deliberate or courageous act. Believe it or not, I had completely forgotten the colour protocol which dictates that green – of any shade – is for Labourites and orange for Comrades. It was not my intention to make a political statement. I had simply picked a dress I liked.

To call the pre-election improvement in the Papine Market dump a mini facelift may be much too optimistic. According to the Schrader Plastic Surgery website, “On average, the results of a standard facelift can last about 10-15 years, while a mini facelift typically lasts around 10 years.” I suspect that the Papine Market dump’s facelift may not last for even ten weeks. It requires sustained effort to keep the site reasonably clean.

In my column, “Papine Market dump a stinking disgrace,” published on January 28, I reported that I’d taken photos of the overflowing dump and sent them to both Venesha Phillips, councillor for the Papine division and Fayval Williams, member of parliament for St. Andrew Eastern, where the market is located. I stated that neither had responded. Up to now, the MP has still not replied. Perhaps she has not seen my text.

“WHAT’S IN A NAME?”

Councillor Phillips did respond but not until late Saturday morning. By then, I’d already sent off the column to The Gleaner. I had asked her for a comment I could quote on why the dump was in such a deplorable condition. Councillor Phillips seemed to have taken offence at my use of the word ‘dump’: “I assume you are referring to the Garbage Bay when you say ‘the dump.’” I had a good laugh. Councillor Phillips’ preferred term sounds so stush. It makes it appear as if the garbage at the Papine Market is tidily contained in a fit-for-purpose storage bay.

I could not resist sending the councillor this definition of ‘dump’ in the Oxford Dictionary: “a place where waste or rubbish is taken and left.” To quote the delusional heroine of Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name?” Avoiding reality, it seems! Juliet attempts to persuade Romeo that it’s just his name “Montague” that’s the real problem in their ill-fated romance. Not the long-running war between their families! This is how she makes her case:

“Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,

Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;”

Juliet discreetly does not name the parts of Romeo’s body that are distinctively male. I’ve translated the old-fashioned 16th century English into fi wi Jamaican language, with the help of Dr Joseph Farquharson, head of the Jamaican Language Unit at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Teachers and students of Shakespeare often forget that the great dramatist was actually writing the equivalent of our roots plays.

A ongle yu name a mi enemy;

Yu a go be di said same Romeo, even if yu change yu name from Montague.

Which part a yu a Montague? Not yu hand, yu foot,

Yu arm, yu face, nor nuh odder part a yu body

Weh show seh yu a man. Just tek one nodder name, nuh!

Name nuh can change? Di roses flowers

Would a smell sweet said way, if it did name suppen else.

LATE MANIFESTOS

Councillor Phillips accurately noted that my photos were taken on a Saturday, which, she acknowledges, is the busiest market day. She reported that “the said Garbage Bay at the Papine Market is cleared on a Sunday to meet the new week . . . .” I hope this doesn’t mean that it is emptied only once per week. That would be disastrous.

I’ve been monitoring the dump every Saturday since taking those distressing photos on January 20. There has been some improvement in conditions. Garbage is still spilling outside the bin but the gates to the dump are not sprawling open. Some attempt is being made to keep them closed and contain the garbage. This was a concern raised by Councillor Phillips. Keeping the gates open, “encourages improper use of the Garbage Bay.”

It is most unfortunate that the manifestos of both the Jamaica Labour Party and the People’s National Party have been published so late. It seems as if neither party is taking local government issues seriously. This election appears to be nothing more than a dry run for the impending national clash. But local governance does matter. For instance, fixing the long-standing problem of the Papine Market dump, once and for all, must be a priority of the councillor in the Papine division. If not, the dump, by any other name, will continue to smell very stink.

Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com.