Red Hills Road eviction continues today

One week after a bulldozer threatened to rip their lives apart in serving an eviction notice, some residents of 85 Red Hills Road, St Andrew are still in befuddled as to their next move.

The St Andrew North police, who were executing the eviction last week, suspended the operation when the residents used themselves as human shield to prevent their homes from being demolished, but will return today.

This week four families have given up fighting for the embattled land. Keisha Karr and her family have moved to neighbouring community White Hall. “I gave up. It doesn’t make any sense fighting a battle that you know that you cannot win,” Karr said.

A section of the residence that is slated for demolition tomorrow has been evacuated. Among the broken down houses, old sponges, sheet and tarpaulin were strewn along the floor. Theresa Smith, who has assumed the role of spokesperson for the group, is adamant that she is not leaving. “Those persons who have moved came here to live. We who were born and raise here don’t have anywhere to go,” Smith said.

Smith said the MP, Karl Samuda is scheduled to meet with the residents tomorrow. “We are just waiting on him to hear what he is saying. He was supposed to come today but we don’t know what happened. So we hear that he is coming tomorrow,” Smith said.

Janet Lamonious, a representative from the Social Development Commission, was on the scene to comfort the residents. “When you have a situation like this, we see how we can get them the different stakeholders to come together and come to some solution. It is not the whole entire 85 that is being affected. We want to make that clear,” Lamonious said.

Meanwhile Smith has lashed out on a group of persons who she claims are calling the residents squatters on social networks. “We are not squatting. We were born and raise here and we were paying taxes at one point in time,” Smith said.