Father of five struggling to cope after fire

Sunday’s Bond Street fire which gutted several houses, leaving 43 people, including 19 children homeless, has dealt a great blow to a father of five of the affected children.

Yesterday Anthony Foster stood in the shell of what was once his home, still in disbelief.
Foster, a chef in the nearby market, told THE STAR that he has no choice but to wait on the political representatives to follow through on arrangements made following the fire.

He said: “Mi just a wait pan di MP fi come back as weh dem say dem a come back. Desmond McKenzie dem come yesterday (Sunday). Mi only can gwaan clean up weh mi can clean up and pack up some things that when the tractor come.”

Foster has been a resident of the community for 15 years and Sunday's inferno is perhaps his worst memory.

“A work mi deh and get a call and mi affi run come up. A seven a we live inna my place ya suh. All now mi shock. Mi only glad say nobody nuh get hurt. Mi have seven birth paper fi go look bout ya now. My lady get frighten when she hear fire and couldn't’t save dem. The only ting me have now a di clothes on the line,” Foster said.

He was most perturbed that his youngest child, Jowana, would be celebrating her first birthday today.

Foster said, “All five kids live with me, three girls and two boys. It's the baby birthday tomorrow (today) and mi can't even buy her a cake and dem ting deh. All mi have a weh mi have on and dem two pants and one shirt and piece of slippers pan mi foot. I don’t even own a pair of shoes ya now, not even a shirt pan mi back, mi affi wait fid at pan di line dry.”

Help urgently needed

Though he is confident that McKenzie will come through for those affected, Foster said "The quicker the help comes from anywhere,  the better still. Most a di youth dem go school.”

Our news team gathered that some of the other affected victims have resorted to using a neighbouring church as a temporary resting place.
Tanisha Reid told THE STAR that her family and others slept there on Sunday night, some even on the floor.

"I slept on the floor. The person left the church in my hands so they know we in there. No church nuh keep yesterday,” she said.
THE STAR understands that five of the affected children were performers at the National Grand Gala.
Yesterday, a group of the fire victims went to the National Stadium to cheer on the children and cheer up themselves.

A resident said, “The pickney dem cry, some all drop down yesterday (Sunday) so we want carry dem out go mek dem perform and take dem mind of what happened. We know when dem come back and see the place dem a go memba, but if a fi even tek dem mind off it. The MP say him ago sort out all of dem for back to school suh we alright with that when the time come.”