August 2, 1998
Here is the speech Juanita McKenzie is giving tonight
at the CandlelightVigil being held (Frederick Street, Sydney) in
conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the 1st evacuation of Love Canal
in New York State...
First of all
I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming tonight. A specials
thank you to Shirley Christmas. For her support and prayers. 20 years
ago the 1st evacuation of Love Canal took place ....The 20 Candles here
tonight signify this and also that it takes in some cases 20 years
for cancer to show up in people. 20 Candles also signifies a flicker
of hope to evacuate the residents of this toxic site....Here is a bit of
history for you..
In the
spring of 1978, a 27-year-old housewife named Lois Gibbs discovered that
her child was attending an elementary school built on top of a 20,000 ton
toxic-chemical dump in Niagara Falls, NY. Out of desperation, she
organized her neighbors into the Love Canal Homeowners Association and
struggled for more than 2 years for relocation.
Opposing the group's efforts,
were the manufacturer of the toxic wastes, local, state, and federal governments
who insisted that the leaking toxic chemicals, were not the causes of high
rates of birth defects, miscarriages, cancers, and other health problems.
Does this sound familiar?
239 families were
eventually evacuated. It was not an easy fight!! Ms. Gibbs faced
opposition at every turn. From the very people she thought would
protect her and support her.
We
the people on Frederick Street, face this dilemma today. We are faced
with 700,000 tons of Toxic Sludge, 40,000, of which is PCBs. To put this
in perspective, the tar ponds contain approximately 35 times the amount
of toxic sludge that were in New York's infamous Love Canal
12 years ago the federal and provincial government of NS started the
clean up of the tar ponds, 55-million
dollars later, where are we? What has been accomplished? Health studies
have been done. The latest results, showing once again, just how high the
numbers for cancer, heart disease, birth defects, learning disabilities,
asthma, and multiple sclerosis in women are. These are just to name
a few that are so much higher here than the norms of society.
But then again,
we have the people in denial. The ones that say there is no problem.....That
smoking is the biggest cause of the problems in our community. That
they have lived here for years and there is no problem...that their relative=s
years ago would go over the bi-pass in Whitney Pier and roll down the windows
to smell the benzene as to clear up their sinuses.
Why is it that across
North America people recognize the health implications of living on and
around toxic sites, and people here in Sydney and area are justifying it
and putting us down for doing what we believe? We have proof
of what we are living on ..How many families in Sydney, Whitney pier, and
surrounding areas have not been affected by
cancers or sicknesses of any
kind? How many have? These are questions that we have
the answers to, and people have to realize that this is a community and
an island that is in trouble? We have to ask ourselves what are we
going to do? Do we stay in denial, or do we fight for our families
and the other families in our community to lead productive and
healthy lives.
In conclusion, it
is important to add that the love canal families didn't know either just
what they were exposed to. They didn't know that they were at risk
each and every day that they stayed in their homes. But one day they
awoke to a community of the unpleasantness and unfortunate realization
of how toxic wastes affect our lives, and destroy our environment.
Residents at Love
Canal always believed that the government would automatically protect them.
They were wrong: In some cases Dead Wrong!
Please
support us, by signing the petition to relocated us off this toxic site.
To protect us and your families, from the poisons of society and government.
Thank you for coming.
God Bless you! And
May God Bless us in our day to day endeavors!
Thank you
MORE GOO on Frederick Street -- What's it going to take to move these people?
Juanita
McKenzie, official Spokesperson for the Frederick Street Group, Sydney,
NS
Please
Sign Our Guestbook
View
Guestbook
CONTACT
Muggah Creek
Return
to Muggah Creek