After you pass the canefields of Wales and Patentia along the Demerara River you come to the quiet village of Vive-la-Force, which takes its name from a colonial plantation. It is a village that is hardly known by outsiders since it lies down the backdam.
The journey to Vive-la-Force takes the visitor along a clay road that is flanked by bushes and canefields. There is no sign of people as you travel but the lantern poles and street lights alongside the roadway give you some confidence that the journey will not lead to a dead end.
At the end of a bumpy two miles or so car ride, signs of human existence begin to reveal themselves, as men on tractors and trailers pass by and children on bicycles are to be seen. Further into the village the atmosphere is very tranquil as the cool breeze from the Demerara River wafts along the streets.
Vive-la-Force is a community that consists mainly of Indians, residents said, although members of other races also reside in the area. It is one of those communities where electricity, phones, potable water, schools, a health centre and street lights are present to make life comfortable.
There is a primary and a nursery school in the area, but the older children have to go to Patentia Secondary. Residents say that on