-residents say masked men were involved
By Mia Anthony
Dozens have been left homeless at the Sarah Johanna squatting area, East Bank Demerara after their homes were demolished when the reputed owner of the land moved to the court to have them evicted.
Stabroek News visited the site on Wednesday and spoke to the squatters who detailed their traumatic eviction experience. They, however, said that they are willing to move but have been waiting for over three years on false promises of a new area that they are supposed to be relocated to.
Upon entering the area, loads of debris from the demolished houses could be observed still lying around. Residents, Savitree Lachman, Rudolph Rampersaud, and Evelyn Singh, spoke of their experience.
Lachman shared that it has been three years of having their homes constantly destroyed. This time, however, it came with even more aggression as they were robbed of their items and children were injured during the demolition process. Lachman’s four-year-old grandson was trapped under the debris and is now suffering from the trauma of having lived through such an experience. She related that her brother, who works in the interior, had his house demolished, so he is now left with nowhere to stay when he returns home.
Evelyn Singh, a 60-year-old resident, had her home completely destroyed. She said that she is among other residents who have paid or are willing to pay for their house lots but to no avail. Echoing this sentiment, the group of displaced residents agreed, stating it has been one routine with the government and their allocation of house lots: “We want to move but give us a place and we will… we will build our houses too.”
Detailing the experiences on Friday when the demolition occurred, Rudolph Rampersaud and Savitree Lachman informed that the residents were visited by the Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, who they said was verbally abusive towards them. In addition, residents were discouraged from recording the interaction.
When contacted by Stabroek News for comment, McCoy said: “It’s totally ridiculous I said to them on Sunday it’s unfair to blame the government for something it has no responsibility for. They are trying to make this a political thing when it’s not”.
He added that when they visited it was to render assistance. “I was getting ready to go to a wedding reception when I heard of what was going on and I went there instead”. He continued “I helped to gather food for them breakfast and so on”
McCoy was shocked by the claims made by the residents but says he now understands the persons he’s dealing with. “We have had a relationship with them since 2019 this is quite shocking”, he stated.
Masked
Rampersaud said masked men began breaking things on Friday and entering people’s houses without permission. Singh shared that the masked men emptied 19 drums of stored water which she had for personal use. This was echoed by residents who stated that they have now lost quite a few items due to the ransacking.
Contrary to the narrative being spread online, the residents said that although they were offered a place to stay at Kuru Kuru Cooperative College, they could not just move and leave their valuables. This prompted them to seek shelter at neighbouring houses and family homes. After this traumatic experience, Rampersaud noted that persons from the Alliance For Change assisted the displaced residents with food items and other necessities. He added that both he and his son have also been assisting the residents by cooking and sharing food with them.
Following the demolition of their homes, they were left to find shelter elsewhere. This prompted some to erect makeshift tents, among other provisions, for the evening.
As it relates to the ownership of the lands, the residents recalled being visited by a man who claimed to hold the power-of-attorney to the land and had served them notices some three years back. Following this, they were subsequently visited by the man who claimed that he had ownership of the land for the past six years. “But we have been living here for over 15 to 20 years and nobody ever came and said anything,” they related. They were told by the same individual that he would sell plots of the land to them; however, that never came to fruition.
The residents said that they are not opposed to moving and stated that they wish the Ministry of Housing and Water would take them seriously and supply them their plots of land that they paid for over three years ago but are yet to receive an allocation for. As for those who have not done so, they are willing to now pay for plots of land and be relocated. They are asking the relevant authorities to make their case a priority. “We are not like other squatters, we are willing to move.”
