Beetham documentary to hit the Internet
A documentary highlighting life on the Beetham Estate is set to be released on the Internet just prior to the 5th Summit of the Americas in less that two weeks time. The film, structured along the lines of "reality tv show" is being created by a group of residents led by activist lawyer Annabelle Davis. Ref. Source 5
Visitors warned of 'dangerous Beetham'
US citizens visiting this country are being advised by the US State Department that the Beetham Highway is "dangerous if your vehicle is broken down" as their President, Barack Obama, will be travelling in a heavily secured motorcade on the thoroughfare during his visit here next week. Ref. Source 8
The government put a wall around the Beetham but the truth is you cannot hide it from the Media no matter how hard you try.
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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- The residents of Beetham Gardens, a drab area of rundown government housing and relentless gang warfare, have been cut off from the rest of this sprawling Trinidadian capital. The government has erected a wall along the neighborhood's frayed edges, blocking the view into a long troubled community that shares space with the murky waters of industrial waste, overgrown weeds and the constant stench of the nearby landfill. The 5-foot-tall wall is simply a beautifying touch, say government officials, who have spent months prepping for the arrival this week of 33 leaders including President Barack Obama at the largest and most important gathering of hemispheric leaders. But to those who live behind the wall, the structure means something else: It's a symbol of years of broken promises, government neglect and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots. ''They can talk prosperity. They can talk about development. But there can be no development in a country if you continue to leave behind any community or any of your people,'' said Sherma Wilson, 42, a mother of four and community activist who has taken on the plight of this long-suffering east Port of Spain community. ``The peace we seek? We can only do that if we develop community by community.'' As Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepare to engage regional leaders at the three-day summit that begins Friday, the question of deep-rooted social and income inequalities in the region will be a priority for the new administration. ''We know that there has been progress . . . In this hemisphere on gross domestic product increase and reduction of poverty, particularly abject poverty,'' said Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. Ambassador in Latin America and now a White House special advisor for the summit. HIGH INEQUITY ``But the fact remains that Latin America, according to the United Nations, is the least equal of all the areas of the world. The level of inequity . . . Is very high, higher than anywhere else.'' Until the current global economic crisis, Latin America and Caribbean countries had seen six years of robust economic growth following ''the lost decade'' debt crisis of the 1980s. But as standards of living have increased, governments have struggled to meet the social and economic needs of their poorest citizens. From Port-au-Prince to Buenos Aires, where residents recently took a sledgehammer to a 10-foot ''Wall of Discord'' separating an impoverished neighborhood from a wealthy enclave, poverty persists. Here in this oil- and natural gas-rich country, disagreement over the construction of the wall hasn't sparked its dismantling. Instead, it has fostered debate on not just the failures of the past, but the perils of growth. ''When you look at Beetham and understand the kinds of natural resources and wealth this country have, you ask yourself, why do communities like Beetham have to be in this poverty-stricken position?'' said Juliet Davy, 43, who moved to Beetham 38 years ago and fears the wall will make residents more vulnerable to crime. ``The government has taken the people for granted.... |
Beetham Gardens haunted by the past
Elders in the society can recall a time before independence and the formation of the PNM, a time of colonialism. The Beetham then, was called Shanty Town. Trains ran nearby flanking the squalid galvanised iron huts in which impoverished people of the shanties were "ketching'' as much hell as they are now. Ref. Source 8
On TV6 they are showing a lot of the traffic caused by a Beetham Gardens protest where the residents there are burning tires and other items on the road. The protest is supposed to be about the police shooting two criminals yesterday in Beetham Gardens.
The acting police commissioner wants a large wall created to block the Beetham from the nearby highway and bus route. I understand why he wants to do this but wouldn't it be easier to just move the people from there to some other location? The wall isn't going to stop them from protesting.
The latest incidents with the Beetham according to TV6 News is that gangs throw bricks and stones at passing vehicles on the highway at night in protest of anyone of their 'own' arrested. Some drivers escape while others end up with broken windscreens.