Massacre residents are up in arms about what they say is slowly becoming the breeding ground for a tsunami of health problems in the community.
These residents say the Massacre Playing Field, located right before the Basketball Court, has become a dump site over the past few months and they have accused the relevant authorities of turning a blind eye towards the situation.
One resident who spoke to Dominica News Online (DNO) on the condition of anonymity said the stench coming from waste being dumped on the field is affecting several villagers.
According to her, the stench is one problem, but the mosquitoes are posing a serious health risk, especially children living close to the area.
She said also that the advent of Chikungunya and now the threat of the Zika Virus are making the situation even more worrying.
“Right now the playing field is full of garbage, dumping of debris, dirt and they dumping everything there, it’s just a dumping site right now,” she lamented. “Everybody is complaining and nothing is being done about it.”
She continued, “There is a pool of water and it is breeding mosquitoes, there is an increase of mosquitoes, rats, flies in the place and just opposite the playing field there is a nursing home.”
She explained further that following the passage of Tropical Storm Erika, dirt and stones were being dumped on the site but were being pushed in the sea. But then the dumping of debris began and those who were dumping it said they had permission to do so.
The present situation has left Massacre without a playing field which was once a recreation spot.
“This is the only playing field Massacre has which young people used to play football, rounder’s and other sports, now nothing is happening” the villager stated.
She said she cannot deal with the matter anymore.
“I have a child and it’s affecting my family,” she stated.
DNO will contact local authorities for a comment on the matter.
Photos below show the state of the playing field.
Wow!!!!! Some time ago I went down by layou valley to bathe in de riva. There was sign saying the same thing – But the condition of the area seem like the sign read, “Please dump here.”
And Mr. Skerrit oye .. If de country went back 20 years give us what we use to have in Massace . Our pride!
And lord help us Blackmore will have to pass in Warner to get to Roseau. With All the boastar style he cutting when he walking Massace street .
U folks in that constituency continue to vote for them so suce sel now
Massacre people please be thankful right now at Melleville Hall airport passengers using a bucket to flush the toilets.
Please be patient buy mosquito coil and Baygon while the PM is awaiting the money collected by Baroness Scotland
Well because all you support a gang which issue diplomatic passport and you citizens are not asking them to be accountable for the income generetaed by these passports? do you know how many garbage bins the sale of one passport can purchase?
That sweet Little village has now become a dumping ground. Look how long they dump Blackmore in that Village..
We have called numerous times over the years for his removal. All the Groceries shop are now strictly Rum shops . Part of Seamoon is now a Coffin Shop. (Not Coffee Shop )The burial site is now filled to the max . expect the dead to reclaim their village any day now . Nothing happening in sweet little Massacre..
Put a little t.v camera there people and you soon will have evidence of the coshonie people making your place worse than a toilet. You can take that evidence to the court now. And what about environmental health dept. We want to see action from these people and less talk. Come to work on time and no shopping and private business during working hours for a start.
It was about time that somebody said something. They started dumping stuff there since December 2014, the week after elections. It stayed filled like that until the fire broke out in the landfill in Stockfarm in March 2015. They quickly sent an army of trucks and backhoes to get the dirt and debris to cover the fire. It was cleared and then signs were erected warning persons not to dump. Every now and then some persons would come and try to dump stuff there illegally but were chased away by residents in the area.
Then Erika came in August and since then, all manner of stuff has been dumped there by persons claiming to have permission from Government. Zika is coming and I would not be surprised that the first outbreak comes from that area. The relevant persons in the Environmental Health have been contacted according to a friend of mines in the area. I hope now that it is in the public domain, they act quickly and do the work that they need to do.
“Persons found guilty will be prosecuted”. When is the last time (…or even first time!) anyone in Dominica was prosecuted for such an offence? We find signs like these all over the place but they only seem to act as advertisements for dumping.
A responsible parl rep would have been aware of this hazard and public health nuisance!
Responsibility! Responsibility!
Some will say doh bash de parl rep because it have organization responsible for garbage dumping and general clean up.
What do these minister parl reps do when they go to work?
You mean blackmoore driving down that area.
De PM himself goes down that direction!
Who does it affect?
We sure it not sitting next to a minister house!
Who cares?
Let’s wait and see how fast de parl rep responds
We Will point out his job for him since he is ignorant of his job description!
Solid waste still operating with hired open box dump trucks which to me is a natural health hazard! Sometimes i wonder if solid waste have financial issues like public works corporation!
Can’t even afford to buy ONE decent garbage truck!!!!!!!
nasty they nasty to dump stuff there
I think they should get Skeritt and his bunch of cabals to come clean up this mess since they are always occupied with doing nothing. Just pull up there giving the public instructions and empty promises. I mean can’t our supreme leader and his cabinet get their hands dirty too? They have proven themselves to be worthless in office so why not do some public service and show us what you’re really worth? You all might say that they were not the ones who did it so why should they come clean it? A better question would be what did we the citizens of the island do to deserve such financial hard times? Tell them to get the public works garage to come and clean this mess. We’re too hungry to have the energy to clean it
All they want to do is sell passport and hide money in all kinda scheme
“Right now the playing field is full of garbage, dumping of debris, dirt and they dumping everything there, it’s just a dumping site right now,” she lamented. “Everybody is complaining and nothing is being done about it.”
Who are the “they” she is referring to? Is it the people of the community who are dumping the garbage? My advise, simple as it is, “make a call for the community to stop dumping the garbage. Sometimes we as individuals and as communities need to take more responsibility for our actions. The community need to first come together and take a stand and have some pride in the community and recognize the importance of the play ground to the community. Organize an info session, make a pact, organize a clean up campaign. When the community has done our part, then we go to the proper authorities for further assistance. “We brought this to the table, now all we want/need is assistance to get the field in proper playing conditions. Stand up together to build together…
It is not the community themselves. I live close to the area and anyone could have seen the large trucks coming from dredging the rivers close by and dumping stuff there. When they started dumping, I saw two of my neighbors hosing down the road because of the dust that was being raised up from the dirt that was dripping unto the road in the area. The government contracted workers cleared the field by pushing back the dumped stuff (stones/dirt/debris etc.) into the sea and then dumped more stuff again filling it up to what it is now. There are also 2 backhoes packed at the sight currently taking rain and no one has used them for weeks.
Lang Mama just cannot get to the point of feeling sorry for people who lie down and let politicians fool them and abuse them. Speak out and stop being afraid. The mosquito borne disease could kill bUT some of us would rather not want to embarass our party and politicians.
The parliamentary representative pass by the site at minimum twice a day. Massacre people don’t have to block the road they simply have to wait for Blackmore on his way to and from work.
It was only one year ago that the politicians were so spreading joy-$32 million in campaign spending. Playing fields were being dug up, bill boards installed, foreign artists etc.
Well Sousay Sel ja Massacre Sousay Sel pa da laba ka twavaille pour fen nous mal.
but while i agree the field needs attention….
so long massacre fellas stop using it….
they moved to the basketball court to play football…..
its not today the field abandoned nuh
The field was not abandoned. They forced out the young fellas when they started dumping in December 2014. When it was cleared to out the fire in stocky they guys returned. Even the ladies rounders team was playing there. But the field was not usable because the top soil destroyed the first time. It was stones alone the was there to run on.
str8 lie!
Very sad situation and Blackmoore passes through the area each day,not tooo far from that is the canefield airport,seriously is our once beloved country cursed.