OVER THE PAST WEEK, Barbados has been covered by thick, heavy and very low dark clouds – clouds dat have been bringing a whole lot o’ rain; and rain dat is bringing wid it thunder, lightning and pain fuh days because o’ the serious flooding in most o’ the low-lying areas.
On top o’ dat, Barbadians from all walks of life have been trying tuh come tuh grips wid a massive cloud o’ pain.
This time another kind and type o’ pain. It is the pain of knowing dat six very young women dead and gone ’long just so because o’ some uncaring, unfeeling, unconscionable people who after robbing a store pelt back some kinda device inside, setting the whole place pon fire and trapping the girls inside.
I know fuh sure dat it ain’t only a few people in Barbados who would like tuh get duh hands pon at least one o’ these people, whoevah duh might be, before the police get tuh dem.
I also know dat duh got a lot o’ people in Barbados praying hard, hard fuh the police tuh find these people as soon as possible.
Two cents’ worth
I know a lot o’ people have given duh two cents’ worth ’bout this subject pon the radio, the television and in the newspaper, but I gine tell you something – it ain’t anything dat ya could just hear ’bout and then shift ya attention tuh something else and move on.
This is something dat does make ya stop and take a good, long, hard look at some o’ the ignernts dat some people getting on wid, and at other people expense at dat.
Now dem poor girls ain’t do a soul nutten;
Dem girls ain’t ring nuh bell and call nuhbody;
Dem girls did in a legitimate place of business either as a customer or a worker wid-out the slightest thought o’ anybody coming in there and trying tuh upset duh lives.
Dat must have been the last thing pon dem minds last Friday night.
But look wha’ could happen? Somebody had other plans. Now, six very young women, who probably thought dat they had duh whole lives ahead o’ dem, in a couple o’ minutes or perhaps hours gone just so.
I ain’t gine tell ya nuh lie. I ain’t gine tell you dat I ain’t ask all kinds o’ questions, like how come dem didn’t full up the sink in the bathroom wid water, block the hole, leh it float over and get duhselves soaked?
Why dem didn’t lie down flat, soak all the clothes they could get duh hands pon, even duh own and put the wet clothes ovah duh faces tuh prevent duhselves from breathing in tuh much o’ dah smoke?
I ain’t know, but I was wondering if the place had in any fire extinguishers or even a sprinkler system. Well, we hear dat it ain’t had nuh more doors which dem poor girls coulda get out through.
Dat place was like a Fort Knox, it would seem, wid all the lot o’ concrete dat dem fellas who was trying tuh get in say dem keep butting up pon.
But howevah hard it is and howevah ya look at it, I gine tell ya now, it could have been worse. Look, dat fire could have burnt down the whole strip o’ shops and businesses pon dat stretch o’ old buildings there in Tudor Street.
Could have spread
If the wind was blowing strong, dat fire could have spread all the way through the back out there by Mason Hall Street and Suttle Street, where duh got all o’ dem wooden houses and shacks is and do all kinds o’ damage down in there. I gine tell ya, it would have been a “human cry”; I ain’t know how the Fire Service would have handled dat but properties enough would have been flattened.
But God is merciful and if we ain’t know dat by now, we ain’t gine evah know it.
I hope dat fuh all o’ the business people in and around Bridgetown in all o’ these small shops dat ain’t got nuh kinda back door or escape route, the Government would make it compulsory that dem install a sprinkler system or fire extinguishers because, look, it ain’t only the employees and customers who could be the victims – the manager or boss could get trapped too.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
