“Mahaicony is more of a family place and everybody living here either related or would look out for each other,” said Claudia Braithwaite, who vends at the once busy Farm/Zeskenderen junction in Central Mahaicony.
Braithwaite considers herself an ‘outsider’ since unlike most residents of Mahaicony, she has only been living in the East Coast Demerara area for about 5 years, although she said that despite the short time she and her family have been settled in the area, she could make a number of observations about the communities there.
She refers to the area as ‘country,’ and noted that “when people come and live here it takes a while to settle in, especially if you didn’t born and grow here.” Nevertheless, she said, the people of Central Mahaicony “are some of the best you could meet anywhere in Guyana.”
As she sat on her stand within the market square where she sells clothes, processed seasoning and spices along the former main public road passing through Central Mahaicony, Braithwaite remarked that the villages surrounding the ‘branch road’ are home a to a number of friendly people.
She said that crime in the area was minimal, since “you could leave the door open and no one will come in.” She added that many in the area would take part in self-help activities in order to “keep the community going.”
Another vendor who operates her stall around the corner from Braithwaite is Bibi Aklima. She told Stabroek News recently that business in the area was “not as bright as before,” but she opens her stall every day from 5.30 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, since “somebody must want to buy something…” She sells a variety of items including ground provisions, vegetables, newspapers, dvds and confectionery.
Akleema noted that the area has seen its best times, and that when the road was rerouted away from the community several years ago, “things change in here.” While the route was not placed “too far from the branch road area here,” she said, the minibuses travelling via the busy junction no longer stopped in the area as before, while some vehicles would pass along the “old road.”
She said that she was born and bred in the nearby community of Farm, and she noted that while persons in the area are of varying ethnic backgrounds, they live “as one.”
Another notable character within community is John May, a popular tailor who operates his business “at the correct location” as his friend who sat next to him described it when the two spoke to this newspaper recently. Many persons living in Central Mahaicony have moved to the area only recently and May himself had been there for less than 10 years.
He said that he liked the community and the people there and that business “has it days in the area you know.” The soft-spoken man sews clothing for males of all ages and his well-organized shop is frequented by the old and young.
Residents explained that the once buzzing community had seen many people, but particularly young people, migrating out of the area in search of a better life in the city and in places such as the Corentyne.
Along the old wooden bridge across the Mahaicony River where traffic once flowed a few yards opposite the Mahaicony Police Station, fishermen gathered and prepared for another journey at sea. As they chatted, they discussed the trials of everyday life or what each of them had read in the newspaper.
Some would give their opinion on particular topics of interest such as World Cup cricket and who should be the captain of the West Indies team.
As they chatted Zeskenderen resident Sharon Bobb told this newspaper that the area has seen some development including the upgrading of the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital, the holding of entertainment activities, and more efforts made by the authorities to assist farmers.
She too observed that in recent times the area has seen a drop in its population, while many businesses lost ‘valuable’ customers when the rice factory at Burma scaled down operations more than five years ago. “First time it use to be busy here on a Saturday but that day is like every other day,” she said.
A few ‘headaches’ continue to bother residents, however, including the discoloured water supplied by the water utility company. Residents think that the water company should improve the quality of the water as it has stained many bathrooms, clothing and concrete yards in recent times.
A few, however, were of the view that the water quality was ok but the frequency with which it came through the pipes was more of a problem. Residents also expressed concern about flooding in the community; more recently several homes on the northern side of the embankment were inundated following heavy rains.
Yesteryear, Saturday mornings were the busiest days in the community, but with the rerouting of the embankment road, economic activity there grew ‘cold’ in some areas, including in the fishing industry which along with farming and cattle-rearing is one of the economic mainstays and allows young and old to make their contribution. Residents noted last week that the area was in dire need of a commercial bank, since travelling to the city to carry out financial transactions is a bugbear, especially in view of the crime situation.
Central Mahaicony comprises the villages of Farm, Zeskenderen, L’Excellence and Yorkshire Hall, which lies on western extremity of the area. The Mahaicony ‘branch’ road which runs parallel to the Mahaicony River, leads further south through the communities of Perth, another populated area in Mahaicony, and Wash Clothes.
The area is served by the major governmental agencies including the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Mahaicony Post Office, the Mahaicony Police Station and the cottage hospital.
