Several housewives who lost their husbands following mining accidents in the goldfields of Guyana, though at their wits’ end as regards their future, are determined to take care of their children’s welfare.
The fatalities in the mining districts across Guyana have been increasing over the years and in many cases, the dead men have left dependent families behind.
Denise Vieira, whose husband 49-year old Charles Anthony Simon died on the spot last October when a tree fell on him in the mining pit in which he worked in the Mahdia area, has been slowly recovering from the incident which saw her operations closing abruptly following the accident.
Simon , known as ‘Corporal’, of 111 Miles Mahdia, Potaro Road and of Lot 53, Kendall Street, Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara , was working an area known as ‘Pamela Backdam’, around 2:30 pm on October 26 last when tragedy struck.
Simon and the two workers were working in a pit in the area at the time and as he walked around in the crater, a tree located at the top of the pit fell on him. His colleagues ran to his assistance but could not help because of the weight of the tree. He was subsequently taken to the hospital at Mahdia where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Vieira told Stabroek News recently from Mahdia that the incident had a “devastating effect” on the plans she had with her husband to capitalize on rising gold prices worldwide. She said they operated a 6-inch land dredge in the Pamela Backdam area on the outskirts of Mahdia.
They rented a mining claim and a percentage of their earnings would go back to the concessionaire.
According to Vieira, her husband had been a miner for many years, but they purchased the dredge some time early last year and decided to invest time and energy and money in the mining industry. She said they had only set up operation in June 2010 and Simon played an active role in the setting up of the equipment as well as the general organization of staff whom he employed.
She said while Simon overlooked operations in the backdam area, she would remain in central Mahdia to ensure that her children went to school, that the household is kept intact and she would also provide support to her husband at the backdam whenever the need arose.
But after his unexpected death on the afternoon of October, 7 last year, life as she knew it changed. The passing of her husband saw her physically entering the mining district, a practice which her husband never allowed when he was alive. According to her, managing the operation has proven difficult for her, as it was time consuming and “really designed for a man”.
These days, she said, she is searching the mining district for someone to take her present place at the helm of the operations, so that she can better manage not only the financially viable mining operation but her family. She said her children are all “grown up”, but there remained the need for her parental presence, especially during the school week.
Vieira said mining operations such as hers, in its infancy stage, would require a competent individual, not necessarily a family member, “to be the GM [general manager]”.
But while there is something for Vieira to rely on to maintain the welfare of her family, another housewife is still to recover from the loss of her husband, the sole breadwinner of the family who died last March following another mining accident.
Nandranie Roopnarine , a young mother of two children, aged 3 and 11 years old, has had life difficult since her husband died during a mining pit cave-in at ‘White Hole’, also in the Mahdia area.
The woman’s husband Karan Roopnarine, 32, of Triumph, East Coast Demerara and Keith Hibbeizt, 32, a Jamaican national who resided at Long Creek, Linden Soesdyke Highway, were both pinned at the bottom of a deep pit after its walls caved in around them on the afternoon of March 5, last year.
The woman told Stabroek News recently that since the death of her husband, she had made several attempts to secure a job as well as public assistance. She said she visited the Ministry of Human Service and Social Security and the agency decided provide her with a monthly sum.
But she said that while she is grateful for the assistance, the money cannot do much, adding that whenever the new school term opens, she experiences grave difficulty in sourcing items such as a school bag, text books, shoes and transportation allowances for her daughter who is preparing to sit the National Grade Six Examinations this year.
She said that to date the owners of the dredge operations with whom her husband worked have said nothing to the family. She said too that one would have expected her husband’s former employers “to even call us and say something to support us”. However, the ardent church goer said she believed the Almighty will see her through.
Vonetta Alleyne , another widow whose husband met his demise while working in the mining pits, also put her trust in God to assist her in taking care of her 6 children.
The woman’s husband, 41-year-old Ewert Michael Alleyne , of Grant Two Friends , Lower Pomeroon, died several hours after a tree fell on him as he worked in a mining concession in the Barama River in Region One last November. Another miner, Anand Pooran, 32, of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, and Moruca in the North West District died on the spot. An excavator was being used to clear a section of the mining pit when the machine struck a tree which fell into the pit. Alleyne’s spine was broken while he suffered other internal injuries leading to his death.
The widow said that her children, whose ages range from 2 to 14 years old (the 14-year-olds are twin sisters), miss their father dearly, and his passing was severe setback to the family.
She said that ‘Mikey”, as he was known by most persons, worked most of his life in the mining districts across Guyana, including in the Cuyuni area in Region 7 where he spent most of his teenage life working as a miner. She said that her husband would travel out of the interior “every now and then to spend time with us and he made sure he take care of his family”. Mikey , she said, started working at a young age and while he grew up at Mahaica , he spent most of his teenage and adult life in the Pomeroon area.
The woman said Mikey was on his first trip with his new employers to the Barama River area on November 15 last year when he met his demise.
She said that her husband’s employers have assisted the family in terms of compensation, but the money could not take care of the expenses which she has to cover.
“Right now I am trying with life and placing my faith and future in God.” She continued, “I know what happened to him was unexpected but at least he leff 6 loving children and I will do whatever it takes to take care of them.” The woman said that these days she depends fully on her farm, where she plants vegetables, ground provisions, and the popular cash crops such as pak choi, bora and pumpkins.
She said that by the grace of God she manages each passing day, ensuring that her children attend school in the area . “These children will grow up and while we have life hard, they will become somebody.”
The 14-year-old twins are preparing to write the National Third Form examinations this year while another sibling is preparing to write the National Grade Six exams this year. According to Alleyne, she ensures that her children “take the books seriously” and attend school in the riverain area, since a sound education is the key to them having a bright future.
Among the other fatal incidents in the mining areas across the country, was the case of French geologist Guy Rigottier-Gois, a director of River Gold Guyana Inc, who died in the Konawaruk Backdam on April 3 2009.
On July 3, 2008, miner Phillip France, 21, of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo died shortly after a sandbank in the Mazaruni area collapsed, burying him in the pit where he had been working.
In October 12, 2009 machine operator Leon Clarke, 59, of Hopetown Village, West Coast Berbice, died at his Mahdia work-site. Police said the man was operating an excavator in a 40-feet deep pit when it caved in and covered him.
And on January 22 this year, 39-year-old David Benjamin, a father of three of Lot 23 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge and of Port Kaituma, North West District, died on the spot after the mining pit in which he worked caved in. The man sustained injuries mainly to the torso and died shortly after the early morning accident.
