Las Cuevas community activist Wayne Mc Clean says the Ministry of Works should conduct an overview of the needs of the villages on the North Coast to arrest the incidence of landslides whenever there is inclement weather. There is also the threat of residents being marooned. The North Coast is home to the fishing villages of La Fillette, Las Cuevas, Maracas, Blanchisseuse, and Fifteen Miles (a community in the Paria area). About 10,000 people live there, he said. In the aftermath of the inclement weather, the North Coast road experienced landslides–the slippage of a mass of rock or earth off a steep slope. There were two such before and after Maracas Bay.
When the Guardian team arrived on the scene, fallen trees had already been removed, chopped into bits and stacked along the roadway.
Evidence of soil erosion was still visible. Mc Clean said: "The Ministry of Works needs to take a good look at the North Coast Road. The road is in a terrible condition. "From the pillars (North Coast Road) to the roads going down to the sea, they have to take a good look at what needs to be done. "Anytime the road could slip down. A few years ago a tree came down and crushed a car. They need to come and do an overview of the areas. They need to pass and observe and do some work. They need to go from area to area," added Mc Clean.
Mc Clean, an employee at the San Juan Regional Corporation, said he expected Government intervention would not completely eradicate the problem of landslides, but it would curb some pressing problems.
"I understand the landslides and flooding is also God's work. But they could curb it a bit. They could bring it under control a bit more," he said. Apart from the fishermen who make their living from the sea, Mc Clean said almost every family had a member working in Port-of-Spain or some other community. The children and young people attend school outside the area. Mc Clean claims, "When rain falls plenty, trees come down. The doctor could not come and we had no doctor because he could not come. The recent landslide took place around Maracas Bay to the beach."
ABOVE: After a recent landslide, logs are stacked alongside Maracas Beach on the North Coast Road. Photos: Keith Matthews
No sub station
Earlier, Mc Clean said, the Ministry of Works had opened a sub station on the Maracas Road. It was intended to spring into action in the event of heavy rains, but the place has been abandoned.
Mc Clean added: "They had an overloader (heavy equipment for removal and transport of heavy loads) in the event of showers but they abandoned the place on the Maracas Bay Road. Since then, they have not put anything in place. They need an overloader."
Residents trapped
When the rains come Mc Clean said, there is always the possibility of several residents being marooned–not getting out or into the North Coast. Many times, he had it happen to him and he had to "go by some family." "If the foreman is understanding, he would give you some time to get home early. If the road is blocked and you can't get in, you would have to wait about two days before it is cleared."
The landslides pose a continuous threat. "That has happened before, plenty times before. People can't get in or out." He said several other residents have complained about having to make alternative plans for accommodation whenever there is inclement weather.
Community affected
Mc Clean, who has been living there for 43 years, says even the doctor–who lives outside the community has to abort efforts at attending to patients. "When the doctor is in here, he tends to hurry up and get out. He knows if the road is blocked, he would have to stay here. It is a risk he is unwilling to take. That puts the residents at risk. Should something happen really bad, there is no one," he said. In the aftermath of a sudden deluge resulting in a landslide, Mc Clean said there was a gentleman at Las Cuevas–Lennard Bindley–he owns a backhoe and lends his services. "He would do what he could until the Ministry of Works gets here. Many times, people in the community would do what they could with a wheelbarrow or a cutlass. They would clear whatever trees they could. But, generally, we have to depend upon the Ministry of Works," added Mc Clean.
Drivers affected
Drivers who ply the North Coast are affected, too. Yet, like resourceful Trinis they arm themselves with a cutlass to clear the path of natural debris. "Those fellas on the North Coast does clear the trees as they drive along," he said. The white panel buses leave George Street, Port-of-Spain, bound for the respective communities. It costs $9 to Maracas, $10 to Las Cuevas, $11 to La Fillette and $15 to Blanchisseuse. "The buses are insufficient for the North Coast. The drivers do a great job in assisting people," he said.
Bus service falls short
Another resident Leance Faustin says he uses the bus service to get from Port-of-Spain to Blanchisseuse. It costs $4 to get to the fishing village. But the fishermen complain that should there be an emergency at sea, they would have to pay $100 to get to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. A fisherman said: "If something happens we have to pay $100. We don't have a live-in nurse or a doctor." While they have the strength and endurance of swimmers, the majority of the fishermen are not certified to administer first aid. Efforts to contact MP Joanne Thomas proved futile.
About Blanchisseuse
Adapted from Michael Anthony's Towns and Villages:
It's French for washerwoman. It came into being after the Cedula of Population of 1783 was proclaimed, at which time Spanish governor Don Jos� Maria Chac�n was settling incoming French immigrants all over the country, and in the most remote areas. Originally, it was marked by rows of tapia houses. The place was marked by a river, as was usual with settlements since rivers were the only reservoirs of fresh water in those times.
The settlement could be summed up as a clearing with towering mountains behind and with pounding sea in front, thick forests, gorges, precipes and generally inhospitable terrain. Governor Sir Arthur Gordon fell in love with Blanchisseuse. In 1866 Charles Kingsley, a great lover of hiking, mountain-climbing, and tropical vegetation, visited Blanchisseuse. After 1928, a path was cut from Arima to Blanchisseuse. Blanchisseuse produced Sir Solomon Hochoy, T&T's first native governor. He became governor in 1960 and was knighted by the Queen.
