Cinderella parish impatiently awaiting highway

THE EDITOR, Sir:

It is indeed heartening to hear of the proposed plans for St Thomas. It is said that Marcus Garvey said that "until the east (St Thomas) rise, Jamaica will not move forward", and I believe the time is now.

St Thomas has been left in the backwaters devoid of any real development since the 1865 Morant Bay War when our National Hero Paul Bogle and those who marched with him dared to stand up to Governor Eyre.

Despite not getting our first high school until 1961, sons and daughters of St Thomas have moved out to all over Jamaica and the world, and have distinguished themselves in holding high offices even if they were afraid to say they were from St Thomas because persons looked down on us as the "obeah parish".

Suffice it to say, we are waiting impatiently for this leg of the South Coast Highway from Harbour View to Yallahs, Morant Bay and Portland, opening up our parish for development. Once we have the proper roads for ease of access in, out, and through the parish to Portland and Kingston, look out, Jamaica!

Naturally, we expect the road/highway to be built with provisions for the overloaded trucks with the sand, gravel, marl, gypsum, klinker, etc.

Our Cinderella parish is now ready and impatiently waiting for the South Coast Highway to start and put St Thomas back on the map.

Dorette Abrahams