Once a bustling area of commerce and entertainment, Roselle in St Thomas is now a shadow of its former self. Months after revetment work was completed by the National Works Agency (NWA), the area, known for its pristine waterfall and fresh fish, has yet to return to its former glory.
The revetment work, completed at a cost of $84 million and funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, was necessitated by the destruction of the road and shoreline by Hurricane Dean in 2007. Much of the beach was swept away, and the 1.3 kilometres of main road was damaged by storm surges. The improvements have restored mobility between Yallahs and Morant Bay, significantly reducing travel time to and from these areas, but they have not improved the plight of the fisher folk and business people who lost their investment with the loss of the land and buildings along the shore.
Before Hurricane Dean, the Roselle beach was an area known for its many bars and shops, as well as its busy fishing village. Fresh and cooked fish, along with rum, coconuts, mangoes, and honey were readily available. On the opposite side of the street, though the land is privately owned, the waterfall attracted people in droves, especially on holidays. The building above the waterfall was also usually rented to promoters for parties. But this is only a distant memory for many people in the surrounding communities. Many of the buildings that once held the bars and shops were swept away during the hurricane. Fishermen lost many of their boats and nets to the waves, and the waterfall that was used for bathing, and sometimes even washing, has now become no more than a trickle.
This has left the people of neighbouring communities such as Shady Springs and White Horses in a quandary as Roselle was a major source of income for many of them.
"It used to be nice out there," one resident related to Rural Express. "We used to buy fish from the fishermen and cook them and serve with bammy and festival, and people would be out there all hours of the night. But now, nothing not happening. The place mash up."
The recovery of the fishing village is hampered by the loss of shoreline and the recent construction as the large boulders used in the repairs are hard to manoeuvre and they leave little space for any kind of docking. There is also significant difficulty in rebuilding the permanent structures that were once on the beach as the area now does not lend itself to the construction of any concrete buildings since there is simply no space to hold them. The communities have turned to more lucrative endeavours, though these, too, may be damaging the Roselle area.
NEGATIVE IMPACT
Jerry Foster, manager of the privately owned Roselle Estate, related that some farmers had resorted to cutting down trees to build coal kilns, which negatively affects the waterfall.
"We have actually had to hire people to prevent this deforestation. The farmers come and cut down the trees on the property, which they are not allowed to do in the first place, and that adds to the problem of the sustenance of the groundwater," he said.
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