For almost three decades the Pigeon Island squatting area has attracted poverty-stricken Guyanese with its promise of rent-free dwelling. Over 100 Guyanese, the majority of whom are children and young adults, now live there in dilapidated shacks without access to potable water or electricity.

The squatting area stretches along the Pigeon Island Side Line Dam. Beyond the narrow mud dam there is a trench and then the sea wall which keeps the Atlantic Ocean at bay. On the southern side of the rows of small wooden and zinc structures there is another trench which serves as the main water source.

Over that trench is a narrow, rickety wooden bridge …..