Concerned residents of Nassau yesterday donned black clothing and surgical masks as they marched along West Bay Street around the Baha Mar Convention Centre in protest of the fires at the New Providence landfill. The protest coincided with the closing sessions of the annual general meetings of the boards of governors of the IDB and the IIC which took place at the convention centre yesterday. (Photo: Torrell Glinton)
Hundreds of residents who protested peacefully outside the Baha Mar Convention Centre yesterday afternoon said they are in fear for their lives and refuse to accept the possibilities of developing health issues because of continuous fires at the New Providence landfill.
The protest occurred as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) concluded its annual general meetings of the boards of governors of the IDB and Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC).
Protestors -- many of them dressed in black and wearing medical masks -- carried placards that read, "I deserve to breathe clean air" and "The Bahamas is not paradise with a burning dump".
Ernesto and Irma Gongora, residents of Sea Beach Estates, are parents to three-year-old twins. They said they are forced to leave their home during dump fires and relocate to another part of the island just to avoid the toxic fumes and thick smoke that billows over their community.
"It's scary that we have to suffer like this," Ernesto Gongora said. "We've been dealing with this for years, but since we had our twins, it's been terrifying because we constantly think about their health and we don't want them to develop any sickness because of the dump."
Irma Gongora said the dump has affected her family in many ways.
"We love The Bahamas and I just hope the government can get it together and we would not have to relocate anymore," she said.
Happie Carroll, who resides in the Sandyport area, said her three-year-old daughter has already suffered three respiratory infections believed to be caused by the fumes from the landfill. She said if something isn't done soon, she would be forced to relocate.
The protest was organized through the Facebook group Raising Awareness about The Bahamas Landfill (RABL).
RABL organizer Jacqueline Lightbourne said a demonstration was necessary because it's very important for residents to be able to breathe clean air and "protesting outside of the Baha Mar Convention Centre was a way to get the government's attention because something needs to be done immediately".
Members of the Free National Movement (FNM) also participated in the protest.
Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner said she supported the protest because she doesn't see the government and those responsible doing anything to eradicate the issues at the landfill.
"Clean air is fundamental and I'm here because we have had no dialogue from the minister of the environment in terms of what is going to be done to fight against this; we know there have been some challenges but now is the time for answers," Butler-Turner said.
Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney, who previously stated the importance of remediation at the landfill, also participated in yesterday's protest.
McCartney lives a stone's throw away from the dump and has repeatedly raised concerns about the fires.
The government signed a contract with Renew Bahamas in 2014 to manage the dump, but the fires have continued.
The most recent one occurred over the Easter holidays.
Minister for the Environment Kendred Dorsett has insisted Renew has made improvements at the landfill.
During the IDB meetings last week, the issues at the landfill arose in the context of questions surrounding the $33.5 million loan from the IDB to The Bahamas for a solid waste management program.
IDB executives then revealed that further progress would be achieved at the landfill.
Simone Davis
Guardian Staff Reporter
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