Dear Sirs or Madames, whatever the case may be:
The citizens, residents and guests of our country are under daily and nightly bombardment. Loud music and other noises shatter the peace, quiet and tranquillity of many areas of our fair islands with alarming frequency. The harmful effects of being exposed or subjected to this situation, has been the primary issue discussed in this column for many weeks.
The purpose has been twofold; (1) to create awareness among the population of the dangers, (2) to encourage the proper authorities to take the necessary steps towards eliminating the most egregious and harmful practices, and provide better overall regulation.
Many people have responded by telephone and many others have stopped me on the streets or in public places, to express gratitude that a serious effort is being made to do something about the problem. Most of these people have thus far been frustrated in their dealings with noisy neighbours, noisy drivers, and complaints to the police.
Some are conflicted when the problem is caused by a religious group that they certainly respect, but whose services loudly intrude on the peace and quiet they should be able to enjoy in their own homes, especially if they prefer to worship in a different manner. Alas, I must confess that I seldom go to church or other public functions any more, because most of the time, the highly amplified sounds cause me serious physical discomfort and stress.
It most assuredly will not be an easy task to deal with this problem. It would have been best to have dealt with it sooner rather than later, but it is later already and we must tackle the problem now. My first public complaints about loud music were printed in the local press almost fifteen years ago. They were sporadic as I didn’t want to bore readers with the same topic every week.
But I did predict then that the situation would get worse unless the authorities took proper measures to control things. Nothing was done, and in order to preserve my health and sanity, I had to move out of my own home. Some of this is revealed in an article I published in the Leewards Times June 19, 1998 – almost ten years ago.
I can’t keep moving to get away from the noise. Nevis is too small, there just isn’t enough space, sound carries, and I can’t afford it anyway. But more to the point; many others are suffering too. I believe the police know this, because quite a few people have told me they have registered complaints, with scarcely any satisfactory results. I have stopped going to the police with my complaints, because I believe they resent it when they see me coming.
I think other sufferers get that feeling too. Complaints have also been made to other authorities – in person, and through the press, to no avail. It is not a happy state of affairs when people feel that legitimate complaints won’t be taken seriously, or addressed in a reasonable manner.
The problem of loud music and noise is not unique to Nevis. Many other places around the world are grappling with the phenomenon. The most progressive areas are alerting their citizens to the serious health and development problems that can be caused, and enforcing regulations that protect the young, the aged, and the helpless.
All kinds of information is available these days on the internet. Nobody has to take my word for anything. There won’t be any perfect solutions to the problems of loud music in Nevis and St.Kitts. There is no way that everybody can be satisfied. Some people just want to make noise. Fine. But they should not be allowed to disturb anybody who doesn’t want it in the process.
Our leaders should be taking the lead in doing something about this problem. They should at least let the populace know that they are aware of the problem and intend to do something about it. They should ask for ideas if they don’t have any. They should let parents know that youngsters and babies in particular should not be continually exposed to loud music that may be harmful to proper development. And they should let owners of amplifying equipment know that they are not entitled to disturb others with it. Keeping silent on the matter not only allows the problem to continue, it encourages it to grow.
In closing, I’m simply begging our leaders to please take the lead and speak up about this matter, as openly as I have. How else are we to know what you are thinking?
Yours Sincerely,
Amba Trott 469-1424 / 765 3559 / ambatrott@ambatrott.com
