My mother was a source of wisdom and taught many lessons with adages and brief phrases in English, patois and Hindi. One she said: "Wash your mouth before you get in the people talk" for which I have held a few interpretations.In T&T today, there are so many subjects of great concern; I am wont to participate but for the fact that WASA has not given me a supply of water for 13 days since March 19.
The villagers of Edward Trace, Basse Terre, Moruga, are victims of rural neglect. We receive water once per week on a Tuesday or Wednesday night for a few hours. The pressure is sometimes insufficient to fill the storage tanks as it was on the last occasion.
Villagers who are farmers and hunters in season are expected to invest extensively in storage tanks to remain prepared for WASA's temperamental supply while those who can afford such investments have no idea what it means to go without flowing water for one day. I am now measuring how often I wash my mouth with the utmost care so that I do not have to go and collect water in containers like back in the 1970s when we did not have a connection and were not paying the same water rates as those who receive a daily supply.
My mother used to say: "This world more wrong than it square, oui."
Caroline C Ravello
Moruga