Dear Editor,
A cry for Climate Justice to the Minister of Health, Minister of Agriculture, President of Guyana, Ambassador of the United States of America and United Nations.
As the residents of Mibikuri, Black Bush Polder burnt tyres to vent their frustration about the unabated flood waters, they were loud in their blame for the government of the day, and justifiably so. The government has turned a blind eye to these same residents, many of whom have broken the rules to convert cash crop farmlands in residential areas, to rice fields creating permanent wetlands in homestead areas. As a result, for the greater part of the year, these lands were inundated with water to facilitate rice cultivation, and the water table is constantly saturated, eroding the foundation of nearby homesteads. Rainfall is now retained in the housing areas, resulting in floods, and loss of crops, livestock and water borne diseases. The drainage and irrigation system of Black Bush Polder homestead areas was designed specifically to drain domestic homestead water run off with a limiting volume and capacity threshold; not for the drainage of hundreds of acres of homestead lands now under rice cultivation. The trenches and drains are inundated with the overflow of water from the numerous wetlands produced by rice under cultivation on homesteads. In addition, the fertilizers used in rice cultivation results in massive growth of “weeds” in the drains and trenches obstructing/blocking the flow of water contributing to extreme flood conditions. At several meetings, even with the Minister of Agriculture, persons have requested for this blatant disregard for the rule of law to cease because of sickness caused to families due to the flooding and poisonous toxic drugs sprayed around them, contaminating the air and water. However, these pleas have fallen on deaf ears and families continue to suffer. The flood waters carry these toxic chemicals to our yards and homes contaminating water, destroying the plant and animal life resulting in destruction of the ecosystem. As studies have shown in Florida and Delaware in the United States constant flooding redistributes toxic chemicals and pesticides increasing the risk of human exposure to these contaminants resulting in cancer and diabetic clusters.
How long will the residents suffer the effects of poisonous drugs on their health? How long will the flooding be allowed to continue. Rice farmers who use homesteads to plant rice are already cultivating numerous rice fields in the backlands. They are destroying human lives, our livelihood and the environment for greed and are enabled by our elected government and the local NDC at the detriment to the poor, uneducated cash crop farmers, the elderly and our children. Our children cannot access education when the dams are flooded, they are sick from inhalation of pesticides. These wetlands are breeding grounds for mosquitoes which transmit parasitic diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and filaria. Our government is involved with the Norway agreement to preserve the environment of communities. We are asking them to preserve the natural habitat of our community. Preserve our health, our flora and fauna. Stop the planting of rice on lands allocated for homestead. If our elected government does not care about the health and environment of local communities they should project this to the international community also. Climate change and preserving the environment is a huge cry around the world, can we ask the Ambassador of the United States and the United Nations to please lend a voice in advocating on our behalf to our elected government officials? We need climate justice for the poor, the elderly and our children from these rich rice barons and local government officials with political connections.
Sincerely,
David Brigbhukan
Advocate for Climate Justice
