Demming: The East Dry River voted PNM for over-40 years and what did they get?

“It’s true that things are always changing, but I expected that some of the change would have been for the better. Instead the evidence of poverty was ‘in yuh face’ as ‘halfway-falling down’ homes, piles of garbage on the corners, roaming stray dogs, and the vine-covered trailer truck that once housed the Syncopaters steelband told a story of a community in decline.

“I wondered about the plan for resuscitation and renewal.”

The following Letter to the Editor on life in the East Dry River was submitted to Wired868 by Dennise Demming:

Recently I returned to the place of my childhood, Quarry Street, East Dry River. It was just 7:30 pm and the streets were quiet. There were no families sitting outside, no fellas liming under the street light; just an eerie quiet. I noticed that there were several cars neatly parked on one side of the street.

It struck me that this street of my childhood was no longer a neat row of houses with plants in the front, filled with the laughter of families enjoying the evening breeze from their galleries.

The quiet was troubling and I wondered out loud: “Why have people stopped passing time under the streetlights and on the corners?”

My passenger exclaimed: “Girlfriend, they fraid gun toting bandits!”

Equally troubling was the dilapidated buildings which dotted this one-mile stretch from Observatory Street to the top of Quarry Street.

It’s true that things are always changing, but I expected that some of the change would have been for the better. Instead the evidence of poverty was ‘in yuh face’ as ‘halfway-falling down’ homes, piles of garbage on the corners, roaming stray dogs, and the vine-covered trailer truck that once housed the Syncopaters steelband told a story of a community in decline. I wondered about the plan for resuscitation and renewal.

My reason for being there was to drop someone home. Our journey was filled with nervous chatter about the dangers of living in such an area and having to rely on unlicensed public transportation—unregistered drivers using their cars as taxis, which exists in the absence of any formal system in that area.

Transportation there has always been problematic; and, for the past 50 years, no government has worked on finding solutions.

This is just one example of a wicked problem crying out for a solution. This area voted for the PNM at every election except for 1986—when they temporarily supported the NAR. It is not surprising that this community has been ghettoised over the past 40-something years, but it is time to try a different engagement strategy which takes the residents into consideration.

A strategy of collaboration across the community with all stakeholders being accountable for the outcomes is necessary. The people who live in this community enjoy easy access to the city and are often not interested in moving out. They just want basic opportunities to live a safe life.

Breathing new life into that community can begin by simply helping residents unravel the ownership of the lands on which their houses are built.

More immediate solutions can focus on improving the street lights, embarking on clean-up campaigns and even encouraging residents to start ‘grow box’ initiatives.

The rebirth and revitalisation of our troubled communities is not only a government responsibility, it is an opportunity for collaboration; and once successful in one area, it has the potential to spread like wildfire to other communities.

Two important factors in the quality of life are housing and transportation—both of which proved to be unsolvable by our current politicians.

What we need are politicians with vision, empathy and backbone who are prepared to provide inspired leadership.

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Dennise Demming

Dennise Demming grew up in East Dry River, Port of Spain and has more than 30 years experience as a communication strategist, political commentator and event planner. She has 15 years experience lecturing business communications at UWI and is the co-licensee for TEDxPortofSpain. Dennise is a member of the HOPE political party.