Dear Editor
NOISE abuse is no picnic or joke, it is injurious to people’s health, it’s annoying, it is so disgusting and inflicts so much misery on its victims. If 50 complaints come to you to be highlighted, please do so no matter how often. You are one of the sources that have helped to combat this evil, sick curse that has plagued this country for way too long.

After years of torment with noise abuse and having my health jeopardized, peace and calm finally returned for a brief period on Sheriff Street and now two more cases of the nuisance have taken up the mantle and are making people’s lives a living hell. These people are not being disciplined by the authorities the way they ought to, despite numerous letters being written including copies being sent to the President just as recent as last week. I have written so many letters to this and the previous administration including the EPA. I am completely fed up and disappointed that those in charge continue to display an attitude of indifference when it comes to such a serious and damaging health issue.

On Sheriff Street, there are numerous zinc fence structures in most backyards and when people like a particular individual whom I had managed to put before the court, but had to decline giving evidence against him for valid reasons, continues to be ignored by the authorities when his son puts out a powerful piece of equipment and a big music box in the yard to entertain no less than eight to nine people at any given Saturday for hours until night, those people are a combination of relatives and friends for it is not a budding business.

By highlighting my plight to the authorities with this liquor restaurant, I also tried desperately to highlight the plight the said individual’s sick, speechless, crippled son who was bed-ridden and had to endure that cruelty for hours every Saturday from as early as 11 in the morning to 9 at nights.

I wrote several letters to the Public Security Minister, the then ‘A’ Division Commander, the Police Commissioner etc, but nothing really serious was ever done. There are a few ranks who whenever a plea is made to stop this harassment would do this promptly. One such rank I wish to commend is a woman rank by the name of Sergeant Ali plus a couple of others — both male and female — but this inconsiderate behaviour continues unabated.

The young man passed away earlier this year and nothing can convince me that it wasn’t loud music that finally claimed his life. He couldn’t talk nor plead for mercy from his tormentors. He was speechless and bed-ridden. I tried to be his voice, but the Public Security Minister, EPA and others were deaf to my pleas.

The next nuisance is a popular eatery also on Sheriff Street. It’s about two months since this establishment started stepping out of line. It was the most disciplined establishment on Sheriff Street. Real soft music that could barely be heard from the road, now every Friday there is a happy-hour session and the patrol has to be summoned to get them to turn off or turn down the madness they call music. It seems as though they are now trying to compete with others by putting a small box outside every Friday afternoon. So it’s the eatery Friday afternoon into night and the liquor bar on Saturdays from midday until night.

It seems as though visits by the police patrol to the eatery have had no impact, because it’s the same thing that keeps happening every Friday. Last Friday was no different and the same thing goes for the liquor bar. Even though I wrote the management of the eatery cautioning them about the noise abuse and sent copies of the letters to various offices of the administration just last week, the madness continues.

Editor, there aren’t enough words to describe the misery that is being inflicted on people whenever that music goes past a certain level; the deep, heavy bass connects to the numerous zinc fences around and this goes on for hours in the day until night with your brain and ears being battered mercilessly. I wish to advise this administration that people’s brains and ears cannot bear this stress without being damaged eventually. Something has to be done swiftly to stop this sickening, annoying abuse. The nation’s health is the nation’s wealth, not oil.

Regards
Pearl Lewis