A Nuh Tutty Gran' Jostis Wi Waan!

The entire house got flooded. We realised when Rosie woke up and discovered water all over the house. Everything is wet, including our beds and couch. Even the phones that we could have used to inform people of and record what had happened were damaged. The entire place was flooded and we demand that everything be replaced.

This is what happened. We were sleeping when we heard Prince screaming that there is water. When we looked there was a lot of water all over the house, almost as if it were Hellshire. We want everything to be replaced [...] I have lived here for many years and there has never been a flood. I have never seen anything akin this. If anyone says otherwise they are lying, this has never happened to us here. We demand that everything be replaced including our laptop and phones, and our expensive furniture, bed, and car.

This is a health hazard. I am extremely worried for the children. The baby is especially vulnerable because they can get meningitis. They urgently need medical attention. We need to disinfect the house to prevent flies from swarming it so we can all be safe. This should never have happened! The authorities must do better.  

All this was caused by the workmen who were building a bridge. The process was improper as they did not do the necessary investigation and consultations to see how it would affect people in the community. Furthermore, if they had completed their job properly our homes would not have been flooded.

We need --desperately need-- justice, not lip service justice. We demand that all our furniture be replaced. Everything has been destroyed. 

To make matters worse, no one, except this cameraman, has visited as yet to see what happened and determine the appropriate actions that need to be taken. This is unacceptable! We need justice! Justice is what we need for everyone, especially given the predicament we are now in.

When you leave here, flies will be all over the place. We have two babies here and this is hazardous for them especially. We need to see the contractor. We demand an audience with him right now because we are determined to retrieve everything that was destroyed. And we also need disinfection and other things to clean the houses. We have to protect the children. We want justice!


I can also bet you read this with a straight face as your face lit up with curiosity to find out what this blog is about. I am sure that after reading that you thought, if this is a real incident it sounds very awful and something must be done. I am sure if you saw a well poised woman saying this -- no dramatisation-- you would never find her suffering funny.

Sadly, so many of us laughed because we heard this account like this:

Here is what Rosie said, using popular form of Jamaican language. I deliberately didn't use the Cassidy System because it would be too difficult for persons to read. The above translation was my sanitised version of what she said.

Di place flood out everyting in deh. Rosie an har fambily were sleepin, wakin up feel wata an wakin up. Right chuu di house, chuu di bahchroom, chuu every door -- kitchen door, every door, everyting inna di house flood out. Wen mi taak bout everyting, EVERYTING. Nuh bed nuh deh deh fi sleep pan, settee weh yu cudda guh res inna, phone weh yu cuda mek phone call an video fi shoot. Everyting flood out an wi waan bak every single piece of [a?] business [interviewer ask] We were sleepin, we were sleepin ‘ear Prince screamin. When Prince scream, him seh wata. Wi nuh jump up an look there is wata—many wata like Hellshire that type of wata was dere. An wi waan bak everything, kaa, fram wi liv ya a Sunlight Street. Fram mi a two months ole jus bawn outa mi madah, lef ya -- fram mi a 29 mi lef Sunlight Street. Suh hear wah: mi neva have been seen my yaad flood out yet or any ‘ouse in di corporate area in Sunlight Street flood out yet. Never have been seen dis yet. I deh ‘ere before my maiden tek and mi neva see it yet. Soh anybady see it yet, dem lie cuz wi neva see it yet! An wi waan bak everyting—laptap, phone, everyting. A five phone flood out and wi waan bak everybadi: name bran furniture, name bran bed and name brand cyar—everybadi flood out an wi waan bak everyting. Baby can ketch menigisitis—a shit wata an gully wata! Di baby fram Mobay, mi nephew baby weh come up, shi flood out too wid har baby—nice pretty skin, clean baby dem—flood out nat a pimples, mosquito bite nutten. Right now yuh nuo wah can happen to dem? Dem need to go to haspital an wi need all type a supm fi clean out di germs, an di fly dem staat inna di house now. Unuh come look agen. An it cyaan gwan suh! Unuh haffi do betta! [interviewr questions] Di work man dem cause everyting wid how dem cut di bridge and none a dem nuh come inna di yaad fi com look wah gwan. If dem di jus fix back rite deh suh, di house wudden flood out. Is di bridge cause everting. Is dis big contract wat going on at Sunlight Street-- 21 ½ Sunlight Street, Kingston 13-- cause every single sole tings wah happen inna mi yaad. Last night to dis mawnin at 3:30 flooding. The baby dem cud have been drownding. Wi need justice, real justice wi need. Justice wi need. I waan bak wi furniture. An a nuh thirty gran bed in deh, an nuh thirty gran dresser or nuh thirty gran fridge or nuh thirty gran whatnat or nuh thirty gran, or ten gran night table, touch lamp—eveybadi! Flatscreen in deh mash up! Flood out wid shit wata an gully wata. Nuh badi nuh com fi look, only di camera man. It cyaan work suh! Wi need justice! Justice wi need! Justice wi need. Justice ova da yaad deh an di oda yaad. Wi need it kaa yu si di condition it inna. An di germs an di nasty. Right now now, wen unuh lef out a fly staat tek di place. Two baby deh deh it nuh look good. Call di contractor. Wi need di contractor fi da work yah weh start. Wi need him. Wi waan back everybadi—everybadi. Wi waan disinfectant, jase, detol, soap powder—all type a ting fi clean out di house. Di baby dem wi ketch menigitis, dem wi sick an dead. Wi waan jostis!