THE EDITOR, Sir:

I refer to an alarming article that appeared in The Sunday Gleaner, dated January 21, captioned, 'Neglected: Trench Town residents living in squalor'. Let me hasten to point out that my astonishment is not necessarily that of the squalor that was highlighted in the report. I am instead agitated that this level of squalor is happening in a community that exhibits great potential for a sustainable cultural heritage tourism programme. I think back to 2000 when the Government officially tabled its Ten-Year Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development. It was an ambitious, but workable plan that sought to develop several areas of our tourism product, including heritage tourism programmes, which would inevitably foster community tourism across the island.

It seems a bit of an irony that this very plan cited Trench Town as an example of a community that would stand to benefit under a new tourism thrust. Seven years later, that community is still not benefiting from this illustrious plan. It is my hope that you can appreciate my added annoyance when I read that the community and the culture yard should have received some urgent development work in time for Cricket World Cup. Whatever the reasons, this development work will not be forthcoming, so Jamaica will welcome the world, and a major piece of who we are as a people will have to be shoved in the background because of the tardiness, and lackadaisical attitude of bureaucrats!

But, there is another pertinent issue that ought to be considered. Is this a declared national monument? The JNHT is moving to have the site declared a protected site in February 2007, and for this I breathe a sigh of relief! I am, however, concerned as should the powers that be, at least the ones who claim to appreciate the value of our heritage, that this vicious cycle of poverty engulfing this community may result in the demise of another of our heritage products. It is a reality we must come to grips with. Where poverty reigns, chaos tends to follow - fire, vandalism, decay these are only some of the factors that pose a real threat to the legacy of Bob Marley and by extension reggae music.

This is an urgent appeal to the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Product Development Company, and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Let us move swiftly to address the greater plight that looms in Trench Town.

I am, etc.,

JANICE LINDSAY

Northern Caribbean University