‘Mi think dem woulda remember wi’

Relatives of 15-year-old The Queen’s School student Saneeka Leechman and her 42-year-old father, Romeo Leechman, who both perished two years ago in a landslide in Shooters Hill, St Andrew, are appealing to government officials to fulfil promises of aid made in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Horace Record, whose debilitated one-bedroom board structure lies in the vicinity of the landslide-hit area, told The Gleaner that no help has been forthcoming although pledges were made that the Government would assist in fortifying the structure.

“Dem come and everybody just talk and nothing done about helping us or anything, that even one a di time, some people a seh a wi nuh wah no help,” he said.

Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie, who visited the family at the time, had promised state assistance to the family and noted the possibility of relocating families from the landslide-prone area.

McKenzie was accompanied by St Andrew East Rural Member of Parliament (MP) Juliet Holness and officers from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, the National Works Agency, and the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation on his visit.

Record shared that he and his common-law wife, who is the sister of Leechman, moved to the area from August Town, shortly before the heavy rains caused the land slippage and claimed the lives of their only relatives in the community.

The part-time taxi operator said that he has since started to construct a concrete structure on the property to house his family of five. However, the 59-year-old said, he has been unable to make progress beyond the foundation because of financial constraints.

“Mi think dem woulda remember and come look fi wi,” he told The Gleaner. “Mi think seh wi woulda have wah Government where when certain serious things happen, dem woulda help out certain situations, but mi see seh dem nuh help out da one ya, so dat mean seh a nuff tings dem nuh help out either,” Record’s stepson, 21-year-old Romario Morrison, chimed in.

Holness told The Gleaner that her office had paid for the funeral expenses of the victims.

Some time after, the MP said, she met with Leechman’s mother and sisters and told them to contact her office if they needed additional help. She said that she is yet to hear from them.

Holness also noted that the father and daughter who perished in the tragedy lived independently of the other relatives.

“I am not sure what they are expecting because they were not his dependents nor was he dependent on them,” she said.

When contacted, Dallas Division Councillor Celia James said she was not aware of any promises to aid Leechman’s relatives. Further, she said, the family has not reached out to her for assistance.

“These people in a Bull Bay, when dem seh help, how dem want it, yuh must build up mansion way up inna di sky. Dat is how dem a talk ‘bout help. Nuh care weh yuh do fi dem, dem still woulda [crucify] yuh ... . Mi can tell yuh dat because a right ya suh mi born,” she told The Gleaner.

In the meantime, Record said that the family is trying to keep the memory of his relatives alive.

“All when time dem birthday come, and di day come of when time di something happen wid dem, wi have a likkle memorial and dem ting deh,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com