Photos and interviews by Shabna Ullah and Gaulbert Sutherland
Lewis Punch, cash crop farmer
‘I think farming is developing a little bit more now and we are getting proper drainage and so. Sometimes the prices for our produce would vary but we cannot help that; we have to live with it. The only thing is that the road is in a terrible state and we cannot wait for it to be fixed. We had an issue with suicide but that has eased up a lot. The young people are getting involved in relationships at an early age and if they have a little problem they would turn to suicide as though that would be the solution. You also find that when farmers cannot repay their loan or if their businesses rundown they would think there is no point living anymore. I am happy that the Mibicuri Community Developers (MCD) is doing a lot to keep the youths occupied. They (MCD) hold workshops for parents, children and farmers and that helps a lot.’
Brijmohan Persaud, cash crop and rice farmer
‘As farmers we need market for our cash crop. What we produce we have to sell at a cheap price. We also have a problem with the road here in Black Bush. They [government] promised to fix it but I don’t know how long more we have to wait. Right now Black Bush has a lot of vacant land because most of the people are migrating. Some areas had a lot of rum shop but right now we don’t have so much. I find that people don’t drink as much as before because they do not have the money. The cost of living is also very high. There are no job opportunities for young people after getting their qualifications and they have to go out of the area to get jobs. But yet the labourers would earn more than them. Some children do not have much education because they have to leave school early to hustle in the farms with their parents.’
Euclid Munroe, farmer
`I think there should be more recreational facilities in here for the young people. We have a playground but they cannot use it when it rains. We also had a problem where a lot of young people were committing suicide for the slightest reason but thank God that problem has eased up. Right now the Mibicuri Community Developers is getting some of them involved in the greenhouse farming and other training workshops and that is keeping them occupied. The churches are also playing a big role in keeping the youths out of trouble. Suicide is affecting mostly among the Indian population; we just have a handful of blacks in Black Bush. Right now my garden is flooded and I have to use the [corners of] rice field dams to plant because it is higher, just to keep the market. I am also trying to make the beds higher. I think it is my fault though because if I had prepared for the rain I would have avoided the flooding. The region is clearing the drainage trenches right now and I think they are doing a good job with that.’
Marcia Punch, housewife
‘I think there are too many rum shops, especially the bottom-house ones, in Black Bush and it is resulting in a lot of social problems. The men would spend most of their money at the rum shops and if the wives say anything they would end up abusing them. If the wives go away they might end up killing themselves. Some people also commit suicide for other reasons like if parents object to them marrying at a young age. Just the other day a man attempted suicide by hanging because he claimed that his wife was unfaithful. I also think that many young people turn to suicide because they were too idle; many of them drop out of school early. The Mibicuri Community Developers is doing a great job to get the young people involved in skills training and greenhouse farming.’
Janackdai Ramlackhan, midwife
‘The general issue here in Black Bush is that the community needs more recreational facilities for the youths. I also find that the young generation is totally misbehaving because of their parents’ attitude. You cannot correct them because their parents do not take complaints about them. Parents today are very illiterate concerning youths and that is one factor that is causing them to go astray. I would help by offering counselling to both parents and children. If there is a problem that would have to end up at the station, I would act as a peacemaker and try to resolve it. With regards to farming, the region is doing a lot of drainage works in the area. They are trying to solve our problems but we have to realize that they need money to do that and we have to pay up our rates and taxes on time. The main problem in this area is the road and I heard that it would be fixed after the rainy season. Farmers also undergo a lot of expenses for their crops but yet they do not enjoy good prices.’
Miriam Jainarine, coordinator, Community Support for Equal Opportunity at Mibicuri Community Developers (MCD)
‘Black Bush Polder has a population of mostly Indians. It is an agriculture area and as such everyone has access to poison and the first thing they would turn to in case of problems. The rate of suicide was very high in here for various reasons such as inter-marriages and being unable to repay loans. Recently a young woman committed suicide because of domestic problems. We would help by first doing house to house visits to inform persons about our services. We provide counselling and if we cannot handle the case we would refer them to our collaborating partner; the Saint Francis Community Developers or to other agencies. We also provide life-skills
training, like the greenhouse, skills, nutritional meal preparation and job readiness. Although farming is the main source of income, residents only know it in the old technique. The MCD is the only non-governmental organization in Black Bush and we get a lot of response from residents.”
Deowakee Drepaul, Housewife
‘The Black Bush Polder road from Adventure to (Number 43 Village) is very bad. We need a new, good road. When the rain falls, the road is very bad for the children to go to school. The dams are very muddy too. Black Bush needs to be developed. There is an electricity problem. Sometimes they do not read the meter and you have to pay extra on your bill’.
Shiroon Ali, farmer
‘Only the rain bothers me. It is too much. We depend on the garden and we can’t plant. If it continues like this, we might starve. You can’t do anything in the garden. The rain is too much. The road is bad too. Sometimes also, you don’t get water for the whole day and you still have to pay water rates’.
Aneshia Munro, student
‘Some of the problems we have: the trenches are filled with bushes and the streets need to be repaired. Sometimes we don’t get water regularly and lights too. Sometimes it affects me with the school. I cannot get to study and the water is rusty and muddy and I can’t use it’.
Hoosnarose Amin, farmer
‘The young children who write the SSEE exams in Yakusari; some of the parents of these children, when the children collect their results and pass on to a high school, some of the parents cannot afford to send them because of the high transportation costs. It costs $400 per day for one child and if you have two or four what would you do. Then you have to buy textbooks and prepare a proper snack for the children, so the parents do not send the children to school. The children are at home doing nothing and some help their parents in farming and some drink and smoke. This is the way the children get bad. I have four children at a private school and I have to find $1600 for their passage every single day. It is very, very hard. The price for our produce is not very good so you cannot afford to send the children to school as you are supposed to’.
Nazim Ali, student
‘Mostly I have a problem with the weather conditions. It is very bad for growing crops like rice in this period. Sometimes the heat from the sun in the day and the cold in the night causes blast, a disease on the rice. Another problem is the lack of jobs in the community. Parents want their children to be more educated. All persons want betterment for their child’.
Sanjay Seeraj, student
‘Right now young people do not have a proper education. So there needs to be somebody to educate them and so on. Without education, you cannot get the better jobs that are suitable’.