Manchester misery for elderly couple

• Work on Christiana road causes damage to property

Dave Lindo, Gleaner Writer

CHRISTIANA, Manchester:

Little did Floretta Smith and husband Jeremiah Smith know, when they bought their house at Straun Castle in Christiana, that in their twilight years, at 80 and 84, respectively, they would be living in misery. Their dilemma came about when workmen from the Christiana Development Road project caused boulders to destroy a section of the back of their house.

The incident occurred on Sunday while the men were reconstructing a pigpen, slaughterhouse and chicken coop at another section of the couple's land. While they were digging, the boulders rolled into the house.

Jeremiah, a butcher/farmer, and his wife have over the years worked as a team in making ends meet and achieving their goals.

"We worked hard and bought the place in 1972. We have been living comfortably on the little that we have," Floretta said.

The elderly couple reside at the house with a daughter and their three grandchildren, including three-month-old Tanoya Powell.

Plans to rent

On their property, they had the pigpen, slaughterhouse and chicken coop, which the National Works Agency (NWA) demolished as it was in the direct path of the road. They also have a partly constructed building on a section of the land which, according to Floretta, was their "old-age pension", as they were planning on completing it to rent.

Floretta said the National Land Agency was purchasing it from them.

"They said they would compensate me for the chicken coop, slaughter-house and pigpen," she said. "I told them I had enough land for them to build it back on. I thought I would have had sufficient land and they said, 'OK'. Sunday, men from NWA came and just jook up a pigpen, fowl pen and a slaughterhouse right next to each other."

She added: "They don't do it good, they did it in a rush. They even set the drainage in the slaughterhouse to run off in my neighbour's backyard. They pack the back of the area, which they constructed with clay, so if we get a good shower of rain it just going to wash away."

Said Floretta: "I called Mr Wint (Valenton Wint, People's National Party (PNP) caretaker for North East Manchester) after dem mek the boulders mash up my place, to come and look at my condition. I was upset and he (Wint) was also upset."

Wint said he made attempts to meet with the head of the Christiana Development Road project, but the meeting did not materialise.

"I spoke to one of the Chinese contractors and he expressed concern in the safety of the house being so near the highway," Wint disclosed.

"He (Chinese contractor) said he had told NWA, but they told him to continue the project. This has nothing to do with PNP or JLP (Jamaica Labour Party). It's people's rights we are talking here. If we have to take it to the biggest international court, we are going to do it. Evidently, little consideration was given to the safety of the residents and the impact of vehicular terracing."

Floretta said she wants to relocate.

"I don't feel safe here. It's too near the road. Anything can happen. People from the land agency came (yesterday evening) and asked me where they can move and separate the pen and coop, but I just want to move from here. My husband and I are old people and we can't deal with this."

rural@gleanerjm.com