Africa-Press – Liberia. Residents at the beachside of Sinkor between 10th and 11th Streets have expressed frustration that their homes are being destroyed due to the continued act of illegal sand mining in the area.
Speaking in separate interviews, residents of the area told FrontPageAfrica that if the situation is not quickly addressed, their homes would be swept away by the sea erosion.
Marvin Dahn is one of the residents. He says he has been living on 10th Street, Sinkor for a year. According to Dahn, when he moved in, he noticed some guys in the same locality bringing tricycles to take away the sand overnight.
Within no time, Mr. Dahn says he tried to get to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to look at the situation of the place but such a call he says did not materialize.
“When I moved here, I saw that the place was being threatened. I reached over to the guys who are in the habit of illegally mining sand at the back of my house. They complained that there is no job, but it is not the way to get a job,” Dahn said in frustration.
He added: “I called the EPA but they told me that I should call them when the guys who are illegally mining the sand bring a truck. You can see that the erosion will soon hit my fence.”
Besides the meeting authority of the EPA, Dahn also reached out to the Liberia Maritime Authority. Still, he says there was no solution to the illegal sand mining problem.
“Just about a year ago when I moved in here, I realized that the folks were minding the sand and I told them to stop and they didn’t stop. I Got in contact with the Maritime authority but they also told me that when I see a truck I should call them,” Dahn said.
Because of his continuous alarms, Dahn says his life was threatened by residents in his community including community leaders as they too are also involved in the illegal sand mining.
“They told me that they are looking for their living and if I try getting to them, they will do something dangerous to me. The people who claim to be the community leaders are ones making bricks with the sand they mine illegally,” he said.
Dahn added: “If people can be held for doing something wrong, they will stop but nothing has been done to any of them for now.”
Ms. Nancy Kellam, another resident that has been affected by the constant illegal sand mining, said the mining of sand from the beach has caused her family to rebuild their fence three times.
“The erosion is seriously affecting our building and this year’s rainy season could be the worst. I want the responsible authority to intervene soon. People need to be held accountable for the wrong they are doing,” Ms. Kellam said.
She added: “We have built our fence three times. Look at our yard; it is not what it used to be. The sea is taking over because of the illegal sand mining at the back of our homes.”
For More News And Analysis About Liberia Follow Africa-Press
