Tahesia Harrigan

British Virgin Islands

Training location: Miami, Florida

Date: September 27, 2010

Since my last blog, I’ve had a lot on my mind in regards to attending the Commonwealth Games. 

I must say, even though this is the latest I’ve ever competed in four years of running track on the professional circuit, I was extremely excited about attending.  However, as I read numerous articles and viewed numerous pictures about the conditions of the Games Village in Delhi, that excitement that I had quickly turned into uncertainty.

For those of you who are not sure of what I am talking about, here is my synopsis of the situation, so that we all can be on the same page. According to reports, the Village living area is unfit for human habitation, they are trying to control an outbreak of dengue fever, one of the bridges giving access from a parking area to the main stadium (track arena) collapsed and injured 23 people, part of the false ceiling in the weight room collapsed, and there is a concern with security.

Now where can I start.  With all that is going on, I feel that it is a waste of time to go when I have to worry about all of these conditions.  I have been mostly disturbed by pictures that I saw which provided me with substantial evidence on how bad it is in Delhi.  The pictures I saw showed images of filthy toilets and sinks, a paw print bed, and dirty piles of water leading to the living quarters and in numerous areas around the village.  There are reports that human feces and the smell of urination were found on the ground in the living area.

Another big thing is the outbreak of dengue fever.  This fever is transmitted by mosquitoes.  Do you remember the piles of water that I just mentioned?  Well the problem with the piles of water is mosquitoes are harbouring around these puddles and they are transmitting the disease.  They say you should keep your body covered and use Off with DEET.  That should be easy to do because DEET is very effective; however, I have learned that they have stopped making Off with DEET because it has shown to cause neurological damage and seizures.  Oh WOW!  I still would be unprotected. 

Structures collapsing is another scary thought because I am now worrying about the infrastructure of the buildings I will be in.  The issue of security is usually an issue that is raised about all major games taking place.  They are working on making it safe, but I sometimes wonder about how safe I would be in Delhi.  I think they will do a wonderful job in trying to keep the athletes safe, but I can’t seem to put it in the back of my mind because of all the other things that are going on.  We either focus on all the positives or add up all the negatives in a situation.  And in this situation, the negatives are outweighing the positives in my book.

There is no place that is 100% safe in this world and anything can happen at any time.  I would have loved to go to Delhi and compete and try to bring home the 1^st Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games for my country, but under these conditions I am battling with whether or not I should really go, because I have great concerns about jeopardizing my health and safety. As a mother, daughter, friend and soon to be wife, I have to make sure that the risks of attending the Games doesn’t cause major consequences to those who I care about.

Recently, they have also been reports that they are working very hard to resolve all the issues. Some improvements have been made but it still isn’t enough for me yet to say that I am officially attending. Other teams are traveling to Delhi for the Games despite what is going on and some teams are still waiting for more improvements to be made. The BVI team is scheduled to leave on Wednesday, but I am not sure if I will be going. I will continue to monitor the situation until Tuesday and make my final decision then.

I’ve been taking a poll on if you think I should go to Delhi or if I should stay home. You can let me know what you think by emailing me at tharrigan@digicel.blackberry.com or Tahesiah@hotmail.com.