TT— raise your voices
THE EDITOR: The willing compliance of the government of TT in the establishment of an aluminium smelter (or will it be two smelters?) in south Trinidad raises questions about whether our leaders are willing to make TT a desired location for smelters, when such aluminium smelters are in effect banned in USA and Canada due to stringent regulations and penalties. In other words, are we so willing to parade our gullibility and ignorance about environmental issues to the world that we warmly welcome aluminium smelters that are virtually banned in the north? Are our people of less worth than those of the US? This reminds me of an occasion when Haiti granted an import permit to a US company that allowed 1500 tonnes of incinerator ash containing lead, arsenic and cyanide to be dumped in Gonaives. Are our leaders so callous, unconcerned, or even ignorant about the environmental impact of aluminium smelters on the environment and on the health of the population of TT that they turn deaf ears to the pleas of the people? Do our leaders believe that the voting ceremony held every five years give them personal ownership over this land, and control over the lives of the people, even to place the health of the population at risk, and degrade their lifestyles forever? I find it blatantly oppressive that city-based politicians wearing the green environmental symbol of the Heliconia caribaea, could be so indifferent to environment, so unmindful of the cries of the rural people that they continue on this course of self-destruction without pause for reflection. It reminds me of the apathy that the rural population encountered when the oppressive decision to scrap the railways was made many years ago. I am now forced to ask where are our environmentalists? Is it true that strategic board appointments have now stilled voices that once cried out against the rape of Nariva, and the threats to Toco? Is it that some environmentalists in TT lose their enthusiasm when there is change in Government? What about the EMA, has this agency been infiltrated by political party activists, to thwart and sabotage the interests of the people? I have lost trust in the mature population, and must now appeal to the youth. I call on school and UWI-based environmental clubs to put away your tea sets and parade T-shirts, and confront this immediate threat to the TT you are to inherit. Investigate the impact of two aluminium smelters in TT, and raise your voices accordingly. Remember that decisions can be reversed when the voice of the people is loud. Remember that the Caroni racecourse was abandoned and the bunkering stations were never built at Toco, because of a united protest. Raise your voices, not only for the people of Union, Chatam, and Cedros, but also for the entire population of Trinidad and Tobago. DAVID SUBRAN
Chaguanas
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"TT— raise your voices"