Letter of the Day | The Government needs to ban vuvuzelas

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The use of vuvuzela horns has now become so commonplace in Jamaica that they are a significant and constant feature not only our sporting events, but also at major shows and concerts. These horns are apparently commonly used at football matches in South Africa, where they originated.

According to Wikipedia, vuvuzelas were traditionally used to summon distant villagers to attend community gatherings. Now, I ask, how did these VERY loud noise-makers become a permanent feature at shows and concerts here in Jamaica?

I have found this to be quite an intolerable nuisance, particularly at Buju Banton’s Long Walk to Freedom concert, which is my most recent experience. In some parts of the stadium, the sound of the vuvuzelas was so loud that they surpassed the sound of the music coming from the stage at this historic show.

I can recall many other epic shows, concerts, and football matches in Jamaica’s past where the feeling of enjoyment and euphoria were expressed through human voices, “forwards”, dancing, jigging, or whatever human beings can do without the accompaniment of something sounding like a truck horn blowing! I again ask, why are these horns now a necessary part of our entertainment merchandise?

My response is that they are an unnecessary nuisance and are only there because vendors are selling them on location.

Some may say that this is an overreaction and that they see no problem with vuvuzelas. However, I would also hasten to add that these horns are made of plastic. Yes, the kind of plastic that is not bio-degradable and is, therefore, hazardous to our environment.

I, therefore, implore the Government to look into the banning of these silly plastic horns, if not to remove the noise-pollution they create, then at least to protect our environment a little further than our current ban on plastic bags.

ANONYMOUS

Kingston 10