In this part of Trinidad, the main river has burst its banks twice in the last year, spewing muddy waters and debris into nearby homes and incurring damage costs in the hundreds of thousands… Bumper-to-bumper morning and afternoon traffic turn five mile drives into long and loathsome commutes… Burglary, theft, kidnappings and even murder are not uncommon here as well.

If someone told me ten years ago to guess what part of the country these words were describing, I would never have guessed Diego Martin. Us so-called ‘West people’ didn’t know nuttin bout dem kinda tings. Back in those days, only people from ‘Central’ used to be asking the government for money because they fridge and stove get wash away, only ‘East people’ had to get up while it still dark to beat traffic, and only mothers from ‘behind de river’ used to be screaming hysterically on TV because their son get shoot. Right? Truth is, these problems have never been just concentrated to the aforementioned areas. However, the geographic, economic and social circumstances of these communities did leave them in vulnerable positions and their plight has been constantly spotlighted by the media. As such, to most people, once you weren’t living in Caroni, Arima or Laventille, then yuh doh hadda worry bout all that.

However, for those of us who held this naïve perception, it has surely been shattered in the last three to five years. This period has seen a notably sharp upsurge in traffic, flooding and crime across the entire island, no scratch that, country. Cause even our once pure and innocent sister-isle Tobago couldn’t get away, at least where traffic is concerned (try driving on the Claude Noel Highway or through Scarborough on a weekday and you’ll see).

I can’t speak much for other areas, but as a resident of Diego Martin since birth, I know oh too well how times have changed. But what concerns me is not the cause of the change itself, as a rise in vehicle ownership, criminal activity and average rainfall are all inevitable effects of economic progress and climate change. The question is why weren’t these changes anticipated and hence addressed proactively? Take the traffic problem for example. We not askingfor a mass transit system like the much debated ‘Rapid Rail’ project but oh gorm, we doh have no Bus Route or Water Taxi in Diego, so giwwe something nah. But wait, they are, there’s the Diego Martin Highway expansion project that’s underway! Sadly, this has come a bit too late, and there’s no telling when it’ll be finished. Between the Tarouba Stadium and the highway interchange at Grand Bazaar that both seem to be going on forever, I’ve lost all faith in the timely construction of social infrastructure. To date, the only known use of the former was as a temporary prison during the 2010SOE, while the latter project has been going on since 2001 and all we really have to show so far is a flyover to South.

Then there’s the flooding issue. Last year, while the rest of the nation was going crazy over Keshorn Walcott’s unexpected gold medal at the London Olympics, Diego Martin residents were going crazy with all the water and mud in their homes (I didn’t even get to see his throw or the medal ceremony live because of the electricity loss from the flooding). One would think we’d learn from this devastating incident and prevent a repeat from occurring again, but alas, a similar misfortune occurred this year, just a few weeks shy of last year’s date. Now admittedly, the response time was shorter this time around and there was some dredging and drain re-routing earlier in the year, but certainly not enough given the re-occurrence. Why didn’t we do more to prevent this? Trinidad only have two seasons, and is not like we don’t know when the rainy one does start.

Last, but certainly not least, is crime. A few years ago Diego Martin’s crime rate was second only to that of East Port-of-Spain and environs. One needn’t live in the notorious Never Dirty or John John to hear gun shots, they were echoing quite audibly from La Puerta and Bagatelle. But of course, when you call the police station to request their assistance, the ever so sour voice at the end of the phone would utter the textbook response of “Sorry but we have no vehicles available.” Only for you to see a blue and white striped vehicle parked by the wild meat vendor by Crystal Stream when you’re passing later. But who has time for arresting criminals anyway?Everybody know the stew manicou does sell out by 9.

C’mon Trinidad better than that. Vision 2020 is all but a distant dream and based on 2013, things are looking blurrier. Maybe what has happened to Diego Martin is indicative of what has happened to the country as a whole. That is a crying shame!