Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
A cyclist gets a ride home on a boat in Swamp, Moneague, St. Ann, yesterday. Water which has been rising in the community for several months, now covers roads and several homes. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE COMMUNITY of Swamp in Moneague, St. Ann, has almost entirely disappeared under a fast-rising body of water. The water has been rising from the ground since earlier this year and has already exceeded 80 feet in some places.
Enterprising residents have since transformed the area into a lucrative tourist attraction, offering boat tours and refreshments to visitors who travel from as far away as Kingston and St. Elizabeth.
The Gleaner visited the submerged community yesterday and found a lively scene.
"Who say boat tour? Boat tour, fifty dollar!" shouted a dark-skinned man wearing a Santa hat. He was standing in a white row boat docked at the edge of the newly-formed lake. Nearby, a few women were preparing roast corn on a coal stove as visitors streamed to the area. A line of vehicles stretched as far as the eye could see, the occupants of which all came to see the water.
SEVERAL BOAT PACKAGES
About seven boats were being operated in the area, the owners of which offered several packages. For $50, the boat operators will take residents from neighbouring communities across the water, so they can get to their homes. But for $200, the more adventurous water lovers will get a guided tour of the aquatic attraction. Persons who took the tour said they passed over the tops of trees and three-storey houses. "Mi seh you see everything under there, all a bar," said a man, smiling, fresh from the tour.
But while the tourists frolicked, residents of the area were singing a different song. The news team met Samantha as she was getting off one of the boats. She lives at neighbouring Foreman's Hill, and said she was extremely distressed by the situation.
"If you don't take the boat you have to pay a taxi $100 to take you the long route and $100 back. I am so confused, I don't know what is going to happen," she said. Samantha added that she felt as if the issue was being largely ignored by political representatives, and claimed that they did not realise just how pressing the situation was.
"This is not safe either. The water is contaminated. The other day gunmen held up some men around here, so the boat men don't operate late into the night. That mean if you coming home late, you on your own."
