‘This Is Our Legacy’
To the editor:
In light of the vitriol over the Walsh property, I want to paint a picture of someone who needs affordable housing in Truro.
I have lived in Provincetown and Truro for 36 years. I worked in restaurants and as a writer, teacher, and therapeutic guide. I taught my three daughters to show up and give back, and they have settled here to raise their families, working as a preschool teacher, nurse, and head of the PTA in Truro. Along with their friends, many of whom are involved in local politics, they are fighting for the right to live right here where they were raised.
I am 65, an artist, business owner, queer person, and grandmother. My income is reasonable — reasonable enough to pay for housing in a reasonable market. I have owned houses in Provincetown, but due to the circumstances in my life I sold those homes years ago, never imagining that I wouldn’t be able to return and secure housing for myself. I am currently housed in Truro Center and feel very lucky. I was told when I called Housing Assistance last year that no housing on the Cape is stable or guaranteed, lease or no lease.
I have three granddaughters who call this place home. They have never lived anywhere else, and they understand that their mothers grew up here as well. I am not sure how to explain to them that this place is now only for those with summer homes, that the houses in town are only for those on vacation.
In September, I was blessed to be at a late summer bonfire on Corn Hill in the company of three generations of my close community, all celebrating together — grandparents, parents, children. This is our legacy. This is the Outer Cape, and this is home.
Kathe Izzo
Truro
Honest Elections
To the editor:
It’s more than a bit ironic that an “under the radar” scheme by Truro second-home owners to vote illegally here came to light during the same week that Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
National or hyperlocal, this is unacceptable and shameful. This is much bigger than debating the size of affordable housing projects or spending for a public works project. It’s about people, most of whom probably consider themselves to be honest and upstanding, willing to cheat the system to get their way.
Keeping Truro rural may be a legitimate objective but not at the risk of destroying small-town democracy, where honest elections are at the core.
Stan Bratskeir
Truro
Finding Common Ground
To the editor:
As a 30-year resident of Truro, I am deeply disturbed by the hostility in our community. In the past three weeks I’ve been called and visited at my home by people reminding me to attend the special town meeting, some of them claiming to be part of a group called “Take Back Truro.”
Hmm. Take back Truro? Who took Truro, and what exactly are they doing with it?
I’ve heard all sorts of things about a “machine” running our elections, “taxation without representation,” and people who have been “run out of Provincetown” wreaking havoc in Truro. I’ve watched heated exchanges at the Truro Swap Shop, our precious town center.
My take is this: lots of people are really angry, maybe because they feel they aren’t being heard. Maybe it’s because they feel they’re losing Truro as they know it. Is there a way we can tone down the vitriol and find some common ground? After all, we all love our town. It’s why we choose to live here.
And while we’re at it, let’s bring back the dump dance.
Beth O’Rourke
North Truro
A Humanitarian Effort in the West Bank
To the editor:
We are horrified by the violence perpetrated by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7. And we are horrified by Israel’s response, declaring war on and engaging in a bombing campaign against the civilians of Gaza.
Our friend Mohammed Sawalha, director of the Palestinian House of Friendship in the West Bank, tells us that the Israeli army is threatening to shut down supplies of food, gasoline, water, and electric power in Nablus. Palestinians continue to be killed with impunity by West Bank settlers. People in Nablus are cut off from neighboring towns and villages by military checkpoints and have lost the freedom of movement that should be a human right in a democratic society.
There are thousands of needy families in Nablus. Last week Mohammed gathered the Palestinian House of Friendship community so they might prepare themselves to survive the terrible outcomes of a potentially long-term siege. They are offering workshops on first aid, rationing food and water, and focusing on the humanitarian needs of the community.
Mohammed loved visiting us in Truro and western Mass. in the years before Covid. He delighted in the freedom of walking on our beaches and swimming in the bay, things he couldn’t do at home because of the Israeli occupation. We stay in contact with him through phone calls and email.
We are sending donations to support Mohammed’s humanitarian efforts on behalf of Palestinian families and children, who are the most traumatized and in need of support. For more information, visit palestinianhouseoffriendship.com or write to us at 37 Coles Meadow Road, Northampton 01060.
Katharine Baker and Peter Titelman
Northampton
The writers, former part-time residents of Truro, are members of the American Friends of the Palestinian House of Friendship.
