Environmental activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh was too weak to speak to the media yesterday but his wife Dr Sylvia Moodie-Kublalsingh said his condition remained critical. “I am taking all of his calls because he is too weak,” she said. Today marks the 49th day of Kublalsingh’s hunger strike, which began outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. Kublalsingh is now at his D’Abadie home.
Sitting under a tent set up by Kublalsingh’s Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) in St Clair yesterday was Keita Demming, a 31-year-old Diego Martin resident. He is the latest of a group of young people, called Project 40, to stage a 24-hour “relay fast” in support of the cause. Yesterday was their 22nd day of protest.
Demming said in an interview: “I always had an admiration for Dr Kublalsingh as a symbol, as someone who stood for transparency but I always thought he needed to take the fight beyond him, so when they started Project 40 I was glad to join.” He said he was “interested in a real conversation about the Government having power with us, as opposed to power over us, where the Government does things with the people, rather than to the people.” Demming felt the Project 40 group had been reaching the public, getting media attention and interacting with citizens on its Facebook page.
“What is great about this movement is that we are galvanising people who are separate and bringing them together,” he added.
He was not surprised at the lack of response from Government and questioned the anonymity of a group, called “Citizens 4D Highway”, which has been using traditional and new media to criticise Kublalsingh and the HRM. The group has also placed advertisements criticising the daily newspapers and the other media. “Opposition is welcome if it is in a dialogue sense but what they are doing is villainising Dr Kublalsingh,” Demming said.
He said Project 40 invited dialogue. “Let’s talk about what is best for the citizens, if it is healthy conversation. Being anonymous says a lot about them,” he added. He said that anonymity went against the transparency and accountability for which the public was asking. Demming asked whether the Citizens 4D Highway group was afraid of victimisation, adding that several people had expressed support for Project 40 but were afraid of victimisation.
He felt, however, Citizens 4D Highway should have at least one representative brave enough and willing to go public. “There must be some people in that group who could come forward and represent the group. It could be a retired person, or maybe a student but there must be someone,” he said.
