June 9, 2004

Dear Sir,

When the excitement over the announcement of a housing plan wears off and the practicality selling the units rolls around, who in their right mind is going to pay market rate, somewhere north of $500,000, for a home nearly identical to an adjacent $100,000 unit?

Who with the resources to pay market rate will volunteer to live in a low cost housing development?

How many struggling new homeowners will volunteer to paying market rate to subsidise their neighbours out of the kindness of their hearts?

Who will pay market rate for a home whose value will only depreciate because its re-sale value will be based on the value of the homes around it?

Who decides who gets the cheap ones?

Who decides what the cheap ones sell for in the future?

The creation of a ghetto trap for the unwary and unwise is a cynical political ploy to garner votes from the desperate and the poor.

Emergency housing is not cute little cottages on the waterfront, it is affordable walls and a roof. There are plenty of existing buildings at Southside and elsewhere which can be renovated and converted to low cost housing without this neo-socialist and desperately na?ve Berkeley version 2.0.

June 9, 2004

Dear Sir,

I felt the need to respond to the article featured in yesterday's (June 8, 2004), in which three Southside business owners will be forced to re-locate in order to make way for the proposed 200 new homes.

One of the gentlemen stated that he felt to put low cost housing there, would jeopardise the property in the area, and that condos would be a better solution for the prime waterfront real estate.

I take issue with the inference and innuendo, that because one earns a lower income, one is not entitled to a better quality of life.

Under our previous Government, affordable homes were always built in overly populated areas, leading to social ills and stressful lives for residents.

The fact that 100 of these homes will be affordably priced for the average Bermudian, in no way insinuates that the character of these homeowners will be less than desirable!

I would like to ask these gentlemen, if they think that the only view that an affordably priced homeowner is entitled to is the Pembroke Dump?

June 10, 2004

Dear Sir,

Yesterday (June 9), there was a letter to the editor in regard to littering accompanied by a photo of ‘trash' dumped along Ferry Reach road.

First, let me say that I am totally against littering and find it depressing when I go for a walk and see all the trash in the trees and by the sides of our roads.

I have participated in several clean ups and will continue to do so to help our Country.

However, my letter is not in direct response to the persons letter but to respond to the picture attached, I was in the Ferry Reach area over the weekend and saw the pile of personal belongings, yes, personal belongings.

As it turned out someone in the area had been evicted and that is where their belongs where left and I was told that some people in the area had rummaged through and took whatever they felt leaving behind the mess you saw in the picture.

I do not know the persons who were evicted but I felt compelled to defend them as being called litterbugs or charged with dumping.

This seems to be a Bermuda past-time, convicting people before you get the facts.

Where's our compassion, always quick to assume the worst, but not in the manner that it actually was, these people are more likely now homeless and now have to replace their personal belongs due to the act of a few vultures.

Get the facts people and stop the rumours you are causing more pain than you think.

FEELING THE PAIN

Pembroke