-defiant Timehri North residents ahead of meeting on relocation
‘They tell us that they would give us title to this land and now they want us to move out’ – Rita Sam, 62, who said she has been living in Timehri North ‘since Burnham time.’
Although they are adamant that they “shall not be moved,” Timehri North residents have agreed to attend a meeting with the management of the soon to be expanded Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Monday to discuss their removal and relocation.
Speaking with Stabroek News on a visit to the community on Friday evening, residents said they were invited to a meeting with the CJIA management, following written notices given informing them that it was their final notice to remove from the area.
In a statement to the press on Thursday, Chairman of the Timehri North Community Development Council (CDC) Daniel Fraser reiterated that it viewed with concern misrepresentations from government spokesmen on their relocation.
The statement said that Timerhi North is not in the way of the airport “hence not in the way of any national development and as a result we have a right under our Constitution to protect our property from all forces internal or otherwise and to, as far as practicable, maintain our civility and social cohesion as a people and moreover a community.”
In May 2012 residents in the community were given a letter by the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Management. It said, “Please be reminded that the land which you are occupying is the sole property of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation [CJIAC] and as such you are illegal occupants. You are hereby required with immediate effect to vacate the lands you are currently occupying or utilising belonging to the CJIAC and remove any building or erections thereon. Failure to remove within 30 days or receipt of this notice will leave the Corporation no choice but to take steps to remove you from the corporation’s land,” the letter signed by CJIAC CEO Ramesh Ghir said.
The governments of Guyana and the People’s Republic of China last week signed an agreement to facilitate the financing of the airport’s expansion. The amount of financing the Chinese Government is providing is in the order of US$130 million and the project is to fully commence in early 2013.
The Government Information Agency (GINA) reported recently that the Donald Ramotar administration has been holding dialogue with members of the community. That report had stated residents were advised against making additions to their property on the basis that they will have to move. GINA quoted Minister of Transport Robeson Benn as saying, “We have looked at a number of scenarios and are finalising some issues. It could be amicably done if reasonable approaches are taken.” According to GINA, the minister said that as soon as the plans are finalised, the ministry will meet the residents to get their input and move ahead with the relocation.
In August, Housing Minister Irfaan Ali said during a televised debate on NCN that there was a relocation plan, but residents said that they were unaware of it at that point.
No meeting
Vice Chairman of the CDC Aubrey Williams told this newspaper on Friday that there has been no public meeting as Benn and others have said. “We as committee members never witnessed any meeting,” he said. “Maybe the meetings were secret with a few select people because we were not notified of any meeting,” he added.
According to the group, there are 336 buildings in the area, in which 394 families live. This figure accounts for 2,364 persons who live there, with 697 men, 789 women and 878 children.
All of the residents receive electricity and running water. They also have lot numbers. Williams said that the CDC plans to put in place a playfield and possibly a school. There are at least three churches in the community. Many of the residents said that even if they are allocated land elsewhere, they have no money to build and are too old to approach the bank for financing. “We are not in the flight path or the extension area. The vast majority of residents are parallel to the runway,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, another resident told Stabroek News that some years ago, she brought former PPP/C Member of Parliament Philomena Sahoye-Shury into the community and according to her, Sahoye-Shury said that the area should be surveyed and allotted numbers. She said Sahoye-Shury promised to send in field officers to complete this task and this they did some time later. “I walked with them while they numbered the place. Surveyors came in and did their surveys,” she said.
Sheila Quentin said that the community is a close knit one whose members look out for each other. “We watch each other’s home and children,” she said. “We were not given any prior notice…we were promised that this area would be regularised by Sahoye-Shury,” she stated. She noted that another group of residents of Timehri South received titles for their land.
Rita Sam, age 62, said that she has been living in the area “since Burnham time.” She said that she has seven children, 22 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. “They tell us that they would give us title to this land and now they want us to move out,” she lamented.
Debra Nichols said that Sahoye-Shury used to visit the community and hold meetings with the residents. “She said to us that we must fix our electricity since they will come to [give lot numbers] to the residences,” she said. “She even told us that we will have to pay for the land and that some persons who had a large plot will have to give up a part so others may have,” she said of Sahoye-Shury.
She said that the residents were told to build proper structures in place of the wooden shacks that once stood, incurring significant expense.
Morise Sam said that she has been living in the area for 42 years, before the airport was in its present form. “We were one of the first two families to come here. Now they want us to move. All my four children born right here. My eldest daughter is 30. We ain’t going nowhere. We singing the same tune [as] Dr. Luncheon…we shall not be moved,” she said.
