Dear Editor,

Does PM Golding care about tourism? Does he care about the welfare of craftspeople who are trying to make an honest living?

I am the creator of the Facebook group, “Save the Trelawny Bamboo Village”, which has more than 400 members from around the world, who have emailed and telephoned the PM and received no acknowledgment. I faxed the following letter to him on April 17 and to date have received no response. I am shocked that he has not taken a few minutes to either respond or to refer the matter to the tourism minister. Did no one tell him of the letter?

What has to be done to get his attention?

Dear Prime Minister,

It is with a sense of sadness and urgency that I write you today. We tourists and other friends of the Bamboo Village Craft Centre need your help in quickly finding a permanent alternative site in Cooper’s Pen, Trelawny.

The Village, as you may know, was razed this past week, so time is of the essence. This is our opportunity to help the vendors, who have become de facto ambassadors of Jamaica, and are now struggling to meet the needs of their families. It will please visitors to Jamaica who wish an alternative

to standard shopping options which can be found anywhere. The ability to watch the craftspeople at work and to shop in a bamboo hut helps differentiate the Trelawny tourism industry from other destinations. This could be a win-win situation if you act now.

In the little more than two weeks that the Facebook group’s “Save the Trelawny Bamboo Village” site has been up, it has gathered more than 325 members worldwide.

I am appending their comments so you may read for yourself what the world is saying about the destruction of the Bamboo Village in Trelawny.

If you need a contact person from the Bamboo Village, you may telephone Ms Centego Stewart at 876-384-9498.

Cynthia A Barnes

5739 N Dexter Avenue

Glendale, WI 53209

USA

grampy@execpc.com