No Christmas spirit for rural St Andrew residents

There will be no Yuletide celebrations for many residents in some East Rural St Andrew communities.

They stated that their Christmas spirit has been stolen by poverty and bad roads, many of the latter damaged by last month's heavy rains.

When the news circulated that a 'strange' vehicle was in their farming communities, several persons, mostly elderly, came out hoping to receive some sort of good news especially as it relates to the roads and devastated farms, which were also affected by the rains.

"Is things unno giving away or unno taking up names because mi need some help eno. Mi farm and mi house mash up so if a name unno a take up unno please add mine to the list," a woman told the news team.

A journey into Halls Delight, Roberts Field and Content Valley currently takes approximately two and a half hours. The closure of a section of the main road, which collapsed last month after weeks of heavy rains, means that residents have to pay more for taxi fare. Last month, the National Works Agency advised that persons who need to travel between Gordon Town and other locations were to use the Irish Town or Newcastle road which pass through Silver Hill Gap, Content, and Guava Ridge.

"The road was bad before and it has broken away a lot of times before, but it is really hard now. Now is all three or four times the fare that mi used to pay, especially if you carrying load. Normally it would take $200 but now it can cost as much as $1,000 because the journey is four times more. The other day is the first in mi life I travel on the long route through Newcastle and I think I wouldn't reach my destination," Egerton Brown said.

The farmer said he was looking towards reaping and selling his gungo peas to earn an income for the Christmas season, but said his dream has turned into a very unpleasant nightmare.

"First fire destroy it further up in the year, then mi plant back mi gungo again and dis time the rain drown it. Farming is mi life. Mi is 79 years old and mi a farm from mi leave school so dat alone tell yuh say farming a mi life. Is four pickings mi could get from what mi lose enuh. Mi just a wish and a pray say mi get likkle help to plant some more things," he said. "I used to look forward to Christmas because it use to be nice, but not this year. I have nothing to look forward to."

Content Vallet resident Gwen Johnson said she lost pumpkin, gungo peas and other provisions to Mother Nature.

"The rain and the landslide take away most of the things and although I lost money I just have to let God do his work,"she said.

Bernard Thompson, a resident of Halls Delight, said he feels like the 'COVID Grinch' has stolen Christmas this year.

"Normally we would get a barrel or two but no barrel nah roll in at all this year. Not even a box yuh see people a pass yuh with nowadays. Phone barely a pick up here, no work nuh deh here. The youths dem just nuh have anything to do. Sometimes when you look at the road, it hard to imagine it being asphalted before," he said.