It is with concern and dismay that I am writing about the outright disregard for our children. I am constantly appalled at how we treat our children.
As a health-care worker and a mother of three, I just cannot comprehend how in God's name the police and the other officials block the intersection of Arthur Wint Drive and Tom Redcam Avenue whenever there is a football match at the National Stadium. Be reminded that Bustamante Hospital for Children is the only paediatric hospital in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean. Should there be an emergency, access to the hospital, coming from downtown, Arnold Road, anywhere below South Camp Road or in that general vicinity, is only available all the way up to the intersection of Old Hope Road and Central Avenue and exit in front of the Dental Auxiliary School then turn left to get to the hospital. Do you know how many things can happen by the time one gets to the hospital? Do you know how many valuable minutes would have been wasted? Shooting Instead of blocking this intersection, why not have the enthusiastic football supporters enter from Stanton Terrace or Mountain View Avenue? Just recently, there was a shooting along the Tom Redcam intersection and the area was cordoned off and the driver of an ambulance transporting a patient from the KPH to Bustamante was told they could not enter. As far as I am concerned, the two men who were shot were taken to hospital and were being treated while this child in the ambulance was being asked 'indirectly' to endure some pain and suffering while the police did their job. We should love and care for our children; they are the men and women of tomorrow. I am pleading with the relevant authorities to consider our children. Don't allow them to suffer unnecessarily. I am, etc., MICHELLE CAMPBELL m.campbell@cwjamaica.com Via Go-Jamaica