Where Sod Meets Sky [View all]

[H2O Man]

“Whenever our people are ready to take any kind of action necessary to get results, they’ll get results. They’ll never get results so long as they play by the ground rules laid down by the power structure.”
-- Minister Malcolm X; WBIA-FM radio interview; January 28, 1965.


Yesterday, as a friend and I handed out the “health survey” that is part of our epidemiological study of the most polluted community in New York State, our pace was slowed by the number of people who wanted to talk with us. These are people from a wide range of backgrounds and social statuses, but they have one significant thing in common: after years, even decades, of concerns and frustrations regarding living in a contaminated environment, they believe that someone is finally paying attention to them.

One of the first people we spoke with is an elderly gentleman. He is well-educated, though he suffers from a major mental illness and is now classified as “disabled.” He told us that, in his opinion, human beings are born one of two ways: potentially intelligent, or potentially republican. He also made an interesting point: “I’ll give President Obama credit for the killing of Usama bin Laden. But, by the same measure, he has to be credited with the killing of innocent children with drone attacks.”

Others expressed anger that the local, state, and federal government has ignored their needs, despite the fact that their properties were severely damaged by major floods in 2006 and 2011. Several neighborhoods located near the community’s large military industry were left to deal with literally hundreds of barrels of toxic wastes polluting their properties. One man told us that, a week after the flood, he saw employees from the industry actually emptying barrels of waste over his fence, onto his back lawn. They ignored him when he told them to stop, so he began taking photographs to document what they were doing. They called the police, who told the man that if he didn’t stop “harassing” the workers, they would arrest him.

He said that he called some state officials, but they never responded. I said that I would assist him in getting a response.

The most troubling thing we heard came a block away. A young man told us that his five year old daughter had died from cancer, a disease that is not common in his wife or his extended families. He said that a health official told them that they should not have consumed the produce from their garden, as -- unknown to them -- they lived on the edge of a toxic industrial waste dump site. He thanked us for what we were doing, and said that he hoped our effort might help save other families from dealing with the type of tragedy that they have to deal with.

I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m old, and deal with physical disabilities myself. But I went back today, and spent some time handing out the health survey in another neighborhood. I listened to a young man (40 seems young to me these days) who is dealing with chemotherapy. He vented for a few minutes about all of the pollution from the industry, that is poisoning the local population. He tired quickly though, cutting our conversation short. As I was leaving his porch, he said, “Hey! Thanks for what you’re doing.”

I’ll be going back to that community tomorrow. I’m tired out, and sore as hell. But I believe that what I’m doing is important.

Peace,
H2O Man