Interviews and photos by David Papannah
This week on `what the people say…’ we asked residents of Orealla, Corentyne to share their views on the newly installed GT&T telephone tower in the community.
Their views follow:
Sister Claudia, Self-employed: ‘It is very good for us to have telephone service here. It would be beneficial for all of us. Calls will also be cheaper, because when we have to call people on the [Corentyne] coast it does be very expensive because we use Suriname service. With this we will be able to make contact with everybody fast and easily. I am really glad they have decided to come into our community.’
Enid Apin, Farmer: ‘That is good for the community. If there is an emergency we can be able to make contact with everybody fast and easy. Also if we want something (goods) from the road we can make a call out there and they will be able to send it in for us when the boat is coming in. That will save us a lot of hassle from travelling and so. Plus we will be able to make phone calls at a very cheap rate.’
Charles Lowe, Rural constable: ‘I see this as a great project undertaken by the phone company. It will benefit us greatly in many ways. In cases of emergency we will be able to contact whoever we have too if the boat break down the captain can call and we will be able to send help. So I see it as something great. With this our community can bloom. More persons will know about Orealla. Also everybody in our community will benefit because the rate will be cheaper than the Suriname phone service.’
Shanie Edwards, Shop owner: ‘It is just great. I say it is great because contacting people used to be very hard but now it will be easier for all of us. It will also be cheaper for us. We will also have a chance to talk to people on the coast that we transact business with. I must say it is a development for our community on the whole.’
Marcellen Morris, Businesswoman: “I would say it is a real benefit to this community. It would help a lot especially in the form of business transaction and creating projects. You see Orealla lacks communication and because of this we miss out greatly from projects. There is a phone booth and sometimes you get the call and sometimes you don’t. So this telephone service will really help us. Presently I am the president of the Orealla fruit cheese association and we find it difficult to contact persons in Georgetown who help us to market our products. The service will also benefit our association and help us to market our products better.’
Viola France, Security Guard: ‘That is a really great thing GT&T has done because there is nothing like this in our community. I see this as a way to communicate with other communities to form better relationships. With this service we will be able to unite as it will provide a chance for persons to view Orealla more. This is a service that everybody in and out of the community will benefit from’.
Elvis Devair, Self-employed: `I believe it is a great improvement for the village. We have been suffering for years. We were not able to contact people as we like and using the Suriname service it does be really expensive on us. It is a great benefit for the community. People will be able to use the service to communicate for business and pleasure. It will also help to change the life of the community by putting us together with the technology world. The young people will also benefit because they will be exposed to a greater deal of computers and so.’
Ingrid Devair, community activist: “We have been anticipating this for years now. We have tried many times to have this service here so the people can have access to cheap calling rates and now it is finally here. Now that the tower is up we are actually seeing our dream a reality.
This will benefit the people of Orealla and Siparuta greatly by having better communications with the coast and so. It will open up a lot of opportunities for us. Help us to engage more in business and be able to have business partners and we will be able to contact them daily or so.
It will so help us to boost our tourism sector by allowing persons to make reservations for a weekend trip and back or even a family trip for a few days and back. I am excited over this because it is a reality for us.’
Ralph Hendricks, chainsaw operator: `It would be a benefit for the community especially when you have to make an emergency contact. It will also help us to keep apace of what is happening in the world and our country. I see it as something great and a development that would put us on the map. Our young people mainly will benefit. They will be able to use the computer and internet for themselves. It would be cheaper for us to communicate with our relatives and friends. It is a very good investment in the community’.
Dennis Andrew, pensioner: ‘Living in this community for over 50 years, I would say it is a very good investment being made in the community. It would help us to communicate easier and cheaper. I have family in Demerara that I haven’t spoken to or heard from in years. So with this service I will be able to communicate with them more often. I am really glad we are having telephone service here because the Suriname telephone service is very expensive.’
