The protest that occurred in the Beetham on Thursday was done by a minority and their actions are not representative of the majority of residents who are law-abiding, hard-working citizens that have been stereotyped and maligned. The residents want jobs instead of riots, they say.
A blocko was in full swing on Rum Street with youths partying “normal normal” yesterday.
Several youths gathered at Fifth Street to show their solidarity with residents that not everything that comes out of the Beetham is bad.
Resident Dave Harragin said “If some minister or someone could come and talk with these youths and create employment, these things wouldn't go on. It was published that they hold some gang member, but that's not why they protested.
“These fellas need jobs in the community. The Government is neglecting the people in the area. We have a representative down here and he doesn't even come through the area, which is (Laventille West MP) Fitzgerald Hinds.”
He said residents were calling for representation from Hinds a year ago when a 40-foot sinkhole opened up two streets away but he never came and also never showed up to address the flooding and clogged drains.
Harragin said he did not condone such actions as throwing debris to block the road, there were many different ways to protest but the residents felt they were not getting any attention and thought that was their only solution.
He said some of the comments on social media to wipe out the area were severe.
Harragin said there were good people living in the community that go to work on a daily basis and not everybody was a criminal. When asked about how the majority of the population felt about a minority from the Beetham could inconvenience and hold a nation to ransom, he said if the Government decided to help residents with work, these incidents don't have to go on.
Businessman Kevin King said he was seeing the community and nation deteriorating. He said grass roots places like the Beetham felt the heat more as a backlash with what was occurring in society and jobs were imperative for residents.