Interviews and photos by
Rayon Harrinandan and Arian Browne
Fazlo Rahim, Taxi Driver
`We need a passport office, we have to spend a lot of money to go to Georgetown to get our passports and most times we don’t get the passport the same day. We would have to spend a lot of money for meals, passage and accommodation.’
Khaushell Narine, Taxi Driver
`The rice millers are always owing us, it has been six months now and I am still waiting to collect my money from the rice miller. The Regional Executive Officer (R.E.O) is doing nothing about the situation, we need him to go, he does nothing for the region and we need proper drainage in Riverstone.’
John Williams, Shoemaker
`We have a problem with the vehicles traversing the Anna Regina market road, the road was never constructed for vehicles to traverse and when you talk the drivers cuss you up.’
Mark McLean , Vendor
`Passenger accommodation at the ferry stelling. The distance is quite far from where the passengers have to
wait on the ferry. The condition of the market road at Anna Regina it is terrible. The authorities promised since last December to remove the vendors on the road side and it’s the end of July and this is yet to be done. On Fridays there is a huge traffic jam on the road. And the flooding in the market, with one hour of continuous rain the entire market is flooded and it takes a few days for the water to recede.’
Phyllis Allen, Housewife
`Flooding in the Henrietta Village housing scheme. It is terrible there, we would really like the Regional Executive Officer (R.E.O) to look into this for us.’
Angela Atwell, Businesswoman
`I would like to see some street lights, at nights the place is very dark and scary I would be grateful if we can get a couple street lights. I would like to see proper drainage as well, it floods easily in the scheme and the streets need fixing as well. There are also a lot of stray animals, I would like the authorities to put systems in place to eradicate this.’
Pauline Gibson, Community Activist
`Child labour and domestic violence, there are a lot of young Amerindian girls coming out the interior looking for
a better life, and some people exploit them taking them and putting them to work in clubs and having them live under inhumane conditions. Brainwashing them into believing that this is the best life possible. ‘
Kimberly Atwell, Student
`Job availability, students would complete their secondary education and after that there is not much to do. You will find a lot of people with qualifications and no jobs, another thing that is affecting me as a citizen is the regular consumption of alcohol, you find that a lot of persons have nothing to do all day so they sit at the rum shops and consume alcohol both the older and younger generation does this.’
Neisha Fredricks, Salesgirl
`I would like the authorities to look into the drainage at old housing scheme in Charity. The garbage in the Charity market, it is a sore to the eye. The council needs to do something about it. There is also the problem of frequent blackouts.’
Denise Savory
`I am not from the coast per say. I am from the Pomeroon. We have a serious issue with the electricity over there,
most people have to get a generator in order to get power and even when you have that it is very expensive to
run because fuel is very expensive. I would like the government to look into that for us.’
