A 7-year-old girl is dead tonight, but could it be because of air pollution? That is what her family is claiming and instead of celebrating the New Year, the Garcias on Woods Street are grieving for Mazia Garcia - a standard one student at St. Ignatius Primary School. Garcia died just after midday on New Year's eve - doctors say it was an asthma attack. A funeral service was held this evening - and she has been laid to rest - but the questions swirling around her death won't rest. Months before she died - her family had been complaining on the radio, to government departments, and to just about everyone who would listen that the air was making them sick. Well, it seems no one listened and today Keith Swift tried to find out why.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The death certificate says 7-year-old Mazia Garcia's died from a massive asthma attack but her father disagrees. Ignatius Garcia says that the fumes from the buses that park here at the Pound Yard Bridge - which is near to his home on Woods Street are what poisoned and eventually killed his 7 year old daughter. Garcia says Mazia wasn't born with asthma - she developed it at age 2. He claims the condition was manageable until six months ago when the city council moved from the pound yard bridge and the buses started rolling in.
Ignatius Garcia, Father
"I don't know who gave access to all these buses to park here running. We had all that smoke - everyday of our life coming into our house, once the east wind or south wind was blowing. If you look, look at all over the house: only this one window we have opened were my mom is. All the rest had to be closed. I was living down here and I couldn't take it anymore. We moved upstairs thinking it was better but it wasn't."
It wasn't and Garcia says his daughter's health rapidly deteriorated and so did his.
Ignatius Garcia,
"I have records. You can go to the hospital and see that my daughter had increased in the hospital medication and everything. I have records at the school. She couldn't even attend school again. She got so worst because
the daughter explained to us that carbon monoxide smoke is a deadly poison - it takes its time and take its toll. We knew our daughter would die one day of asthma but we are sure, the doctors say, that the carbon monoxide smoke had did some damage to her.
I am sick. I think I am the next one personally to die because they can't find what is wrong with me. I have shortness of breath, I can't breathe and I was never sick in my life. I am not a sickly child. I am fisherman I was strong and I go around but now I end up sick."
But Ignatius Gracie admits he doesn't know how much damage it did. A next door neighbor who didn't want to show her face also claims that the smog from the buses is disrupting her family's health.
Miss June, Area Resident
"It is affecting people because year before last - I started suffering heart problems and when the doctor they checked me it was not my heart and I have just funny breathing."
7NEWS _couldn't independently confirm if the smoke from the buses or the fumes from the gas station affected Garcia and his daughter's health. There were no medical certificates other than this letter from the Department of Environment to the City Council. Operations Manager at National Transport Phillip Jones says that his company played no part in Mazia's death.
Phillip Jones, National Transport
"We have a bus park here for the Ladyville - it is only our Ladyville run that parks out here at the bus stop and as you can see, whenever we park out here we shut down our engine so that cannot distribute any fumes while it is not in motion."
But somehow a 7-year-old girl is dead - leaving behind an anguished mother and father.
Ignatius Garcia,
"I can't change time but I am going to go and see how far I can go because I want to see how I can protect other kids that are here. There is a preschool there and it has a lot of little babies and I think the family does not realize that even living behind a gas station, the fumes from the gas station is deadly. So they should think about their kids. I have the proof --my one went. I am probably going to die directly but I tell you the truth it hurts because my daughter didn't enjoy herself."
Adelia Garcia,
"When you lost a child, it is nothing good. It is hard. I miss my daughter but I cannot do anything. She is gone."
Little Mazia is gone - and all her family can hope is that the tragedy of her death won't be forgotten.
As mentioned in the story - the Department of Environment wrote a letter to the Transport Department on behalf of the family complaining about the situation. An official told us this evening that is about all they could do since Belize doesn't have the equipment to test air quality and if it is being polluted by what and by how much. The Garcia family hasn't indicated if they will sue.
