This year, I assigned myself the painful task of monitoring public opinion on cynical breaches of the law, common decency, and the duty of community care when it comes to noise pollution in our country.
Yes, I have been constantly reminded of the
assured futility of such campaigns. “Drop it, Wesley. Ain’t gonna happen” is
the now routine response to my view that there are ways to assess the state of
our civilisation, and the phenomenon of noise impunity is one that should be firmly
resolved.
Like-minded individuals and organisations
have become used to the fact that vocal protests are easily drowned out by the
near and distant clatter of bamboo, squibs, and all varieties of noisy
pyrotechnics quite pointedly controlled by legislation, including but not restricted
to those related to the storage and use of explosives.
If we were to discuss only the law-breaking
features of this subject, we could point to the fact that there is no shortage of
legislative guidance. There are our Noise Pollution Rules under the
Environmental Management Act, the Explosives Act Chap 16:02, the Summary
Offences Act Chap 11:02, and the Public Holiday and Festival Act Chap 19:05. But
this goes beyond what the laws prescribe.
Every now and then, we are thrown the mamaguy
of “zero-tolerance” policy. My notes and past dispatches on this can fill volumes
on the subject. And though I am aware that I am not alone, there appear to be sad
signs of battle-weary retreat by others.
There has been the gradual muting of
dissent resulting from awareness of the fact that neither decision-makers at
the highest levels nor street-level noisemakers seem willing to at least
reflect on the multi-dimensional damage being sustained.
There have been times when hope appeared.
Eight years ago, then Public Administration and Communications Minister, Maxie
Cuffie, declared unequivocal commitment to address the issue. He went further
down this dark, deserted alley on this matter than any other government
minister I can recall.
I had hoped that even as his Cabinet
colleagues eventually dropped the campaign, and in the sanctity of his
retirement, Cuffie would not have abandoned the cause. Ditto former commissioners
of police ostensibly no longer under the yoke of surrender to economic muscle, imprecise
statute, political pressures, and misguided notions regarding what constitutes
cultural norms.
On the latter point, I have pointed before
to the fact that around the globe there have been longstanding “cultural
practices” that have been found to be harmful and which reasonable people must
continue to oppose.
There is sufficient evidence that our noisemaking
at selected times of the year causes physical and emotional harm to people, animals,
and our natural environment.
There are interest groups in T&T that
have explored the matter in detail, and I will not recount the numerous
examples cited, except to add that exceptions to the locating of “acceptable”
levels of noise do not always consider their impact on wildlife with direct and
indirect implications for our endangered biodiversity.
I once sat in on an eye-opening discussion by
experts contemplating expansion of the reach of our Noise Pollution Rules. In
the end, politics and “the culture” reigned.
The TTSPCA and other animal care organisations
are (sensibly) focusing on coping mechanisms rather than on their past enthusiasm
for ameliorative measures.
Letter writers to the press have become
less strident in their condemnation. Perennial contributors such as “DF Redmond”
of Laventille (I scoured the list of electors for the name but could not find
it, but I am hoping that protection through anonymity is not the case) are increasingly
being marginalised.
Let me quote him/her in his last submission:
“Is this a civilised country? Is this a real place? How could bars, tyre shops,
mini-marts, car wash establishments, idiot car DJs, etc, seem to have an
untrammelled right to disturb entire neighbourhoods, and nary a word from all
these patriots?
This paucity of genuine, impassioned
responsibility is as much a crisis today as our worsening crime situation.”
My old friend, Neil Reynald, chimed in a
few months ago by invoking the links that enjoin the different forms of
criminality: “Despite legislation for noise disturbance/littering/gang
activities/illegal firearm ownership, these activities continue unabated and
without control.”
Maybe it’s just my imagination or lapses in
my monitoring of public opinion on this, but could it be we have begun queuing meekly
and silently like lambs to the slaughter in the face of a connected string of
criminal behaviour?
“Zero-tolerance” needs to extend beyond the
platforms of official edict. Silence over noise is not an option.
