A documentary highlighting life on the Beetham Estate is set to be released on the Internet just prior to the 5th Summit of the Americas in less that two weeks time.
The film, structured along the lines of ’reality tv show’ is being created by a group of residents led by activist lawyer Annabelle Davis. One of the producers of the DVD, Anderson Wilson, was last week jailed, allegedly for an arms and ammunition charge. Anderson was also once hired by the East Port of Spain Development Company to build part of the berm on the Priority Bus Route. The contract was taken away a few months ago from Wilson and given to the contractor who is building the highway berm.
Wilson’s absence from the film project hasn’t stopped work continuing-Davis and another community member has pledged to continue making the documentary which they say is intended to bring local and international attention to issues like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and a generally poor standard of living among most of the Beetham’s residents.
Davis told the Sunday Express that the documentary has nothing to do with the Fifth Summit of the Americas beginning on April 17 in Port of Spain nor the presence of President of the United States, Barack Obama at the Summit, but that it was a tool to be used to fight against the ongoing problems of the community.
’This is not about the summit,’ Davis insisted.
’The problems in this community are ongoing and we will continue to highlight them long after the Summit. We had decided, myself, Anderson Wilson and another member of the community, to make this film to highlight the way people are living and the problems in the area, the poverty, the police brutality and so on.
’Presently, we have enough footage to start, which we will be doing, and the cameras will also continue to roll. We intend to place this footage on YouTube in the form of a documentary that can be shown to the world. This wasn’t really centered on (Barack) Obama but is meant to show what the issues are.’
Beetham residents being led by Davis are also opposed to the construction of the berm alongside the Beetham, on the north along the Priority Bus Route, and south, on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway.
Very much a work in progress, only the walls that will support the berms have so far been constructed, and piles of earth are placed against some parts. Foliage and greenery of various kinds will be planted on these earth mounds.
Visible on the highway side of the Beetham are already planted, nearly full-grown coconut and other trees.
Beetham residents’ views are mixed on the issue of the ’wall’.
Some residents said they are almost completely clueless about the planned development of the area and they ’read about it in the papers’ like everybody else.
’I really don’t know what is going on,’ said one middle-aged woman.
’I heard since last year that a wall was going up and they were making a berm, and then I come and see that a wall going up fast, fast last month.
’Last year one of my neighbours went to a consultation and she is saying now that what they doing is not what they had told the people about.
’Around my phase where I live, we just hearing from other people what happening. Now they come and have this bacchanal about who want wall and who don’t want wall, and some of we just staying out because people and they family get kill for less.’
Some residents do feel the berm will serve a constructive purpose and will beautify the area, but for others, there’s no permanency in this project.
’Family, hear what going to happen, we taking the work and we will eat ah food and then that wall coming down,’ said one resident.
’Best they name here the Emperor Valley Zoo if they feel they leaving that wall there. What the people of Beetham need is not a wall. We need schools for our children, good community programmes for our youths, we need good drainage to keep the place clean. We don’t need no berm to encourage the youths and them to lime and idle more.
’They feel that will change something in here? What will happen is that it will still be the same Beetham, and berm will become part of the culture.
’’Ah going an lime on the berm’ is what you will hear. They could say what they want, this wall is nothing more than they don’t want none of them foreigners to see the Beetham. They want to block we out.’
