Merthyr is a small town close to Cardiff, in South Wales. A short drive away from where I’m living, Hay on Wye, it couldn’t be any more different to the upper class hippy valleys that lie in the Black Mountains… Here, smack bang in the middle of the beautiful Brecon Beacons a terrifying site stands. Everyone, though friendly, seemed well; withdrawn, fed-up, run-down a lot alike their surroundings. The once flourishing town, which used to be home to a large Jewish community, and also thrived during the coal mining years has now hit rock bottom. Every 2nd pub is derelict, beautiful churches, a synagogue, community buildings, a theater, and more all lie to rot whilst fake plastic pubs with boards on the windows to stop them getting smashed pop up to support the seemingly lost population. I first came to hear about Merthyr and its problems when studying Business Studies in school – it is the town in the UK with the highest rates of people claiming benefits of one sort or another, and it also has one of the highest percent increase in users of heroin in the UK. Smack back in the middle of the beautiful Brecon Beacons! What happened here?! The decline of the coal and mine industry has to be the instigator of Merthyr’s steady fall into dissolution, but it can’t be the only reason.. I hope to visit this place again soon to find more stories, lost in the rubble.
Lost in the Rubble ~ Jessica Kim 