Interviews and photos by Shabna Ullah
Sugar workers in Berbice recently protested the high cost of living and this week we asked persons to comment on how the issue is affecting them and got the following responses:
Nigel Abbensetts, farmer “It is very hard for people to survive with this high cost of living. The main issue is the VAT and government should take off something; 16% VAT is too much. If the government said they care for the people and love them then they should look out for them. They can create jobs and establish more farms such as for rice or establish factories to do canning. This way jobs would be created and both the government and the people would benefit. Life would get better if that happens. The government has the power to make things better. Poor people do not have money to set up factories or invest in big businesses…”
Indrawattie Harnandan, housewife, “Everything is very expensive in the shops and now the light bill is so high. I have a child going to high school it is hard on me. My husband is a cane-cutter and he brings home his pay on Fridays but by Wednesday the money finish and we still don’t get everything we need. Sometimes I have to sit and think how to make the money work to run the home. We survive by minding some white fowls…”
Nourang Beharry, tractor operator, “People cannot survive anymore with what is going on; two weeks wage is for light bill, and the other two weeks is for cooking gas, foodstuff and other expenses. Some people have children to send to school and they have to find money for transportation and text books. Why is it that people working and still they starving – they cannot afford to eat properly. Look at how the prices have increased for basic food items.”
Junior, labourer, “I would not allow the cost of living to affect me because we have to ‘produce or perish.’ But I heard the Prime Minister [Samuel Hinds] making comparison about the situation with other countries. Well, Rastafarians in Guyana have the same problem as other countries with regards to marijuana. Seeing that government can make reference to other countries they can legalize marijuana. It was legalized in Holland and the Jamaican parliament is on the verge of doing so as well. It is a part of our culture. Legalizing the herb would ease the overcrowding in the prison and cultivating it would help to provide work for the youths.”
Sheron Cummings, weeder, “The cost of living is affecting me a lot because the money I am working for cannot pay light bill and run the home. I am a single mother and two of my children are attending school. It is tough to take care of them but sometimes my other children assist me. I work for $9,000 per week and it used to last me one week but now it finish one time when I go in the shop. I would like to see the VAT reduced and the salary increase.”
Gomatie Sukhai, housewife “Cost of living right now is very high for the poor man. My husband is a farmer and the money he invest in the farm he cannot make it back anymore. Three-quarter of the money is spent on fertilizer, drugs and labourers and the other quarter cannot maintain you. Foodstuff and everything else gone up sky high and certain main commodities for the kitchen you have to cut out. I have a daughter to send to high school in NA and we live in Macaw Village [East Bank Berbice] – 17 miles from NA. I have to find $300 per day for transportation and plus allowance for snacks. If people have four children, can they afford that? A lot of people are moving out of the area because farming cannot pay. They prefer to work for a salary. The road is in a terrible condition and there is no health facility. People have to go all the way to New Amsterdam when they are sick. In the 60s the area was a beautiful place and now it is like a ghost town. I never believed that my grandchildren would not grow up there – they already moved out.”
Janet John, weeder “Rice is a main item in the kitchen and now we have to pay $8,000 for one bag. The price for everything else in the shop also increase and the light bill as well. My husband is a pensioner and I am finding it hard to manage the home with the little money. I cannot even get to save in case of an emergency and I think a raise of pay would help the situation. I would also like to see changes especially with the price for food stuff and light bill charges. This country does not need VAT; people are too poor. The businesspersons have to be honest to pay up their taxes so that the poor class of people would not be pressured to pay it.”
Dr. Veerasammy Ramayya, herbal doctor “The main reason for the sugar workers’ protest is the cost of living. The money is not sufficient for food especially since the price for rice is so high as well as the electricity and the high cost of sending children to school. Many children on the Corentyne are not going to school because of the poverty level. I think that the high cost of living is triggered by VAT. To me prices are higher here in Berbice than in Georgetown. I have listened to the concerns of the sugar workers and strongly feel, as an advocate that their complaints are legitimate. They have vented their frustration against the NIS in terms of the old age pensions and record keeping. I advocated for many years about the injustice of poor people and I recommended to the Prime Minister [Samuel Hinds when he was in Berbice] that a commission needs to be set up to deal independently with the complaints.”
Gladys Khan, pensioner,“The cost of living is high and GPL killing poor people. I am getting my pension from the government and I am also receiving a little NIS for my husband who died three years ago. By the time I take out money for bills I hardly have any left for food. What I would do though; I have to try and make much.”
Seline Simon, housewife, “The cost of living is too high and I am 57-years-old and my husband is 61 and we cannot get jobs. Two of my daughters also want to work and they are also not getting jobs but three of my other children are supporting us. Some shops on the Corentyne have rice for $800 per gallon and a small packet of flour for $200; everything else in the market expensive. We are poor and cannot handle the situation. We suffer in other areas as well for instance at Ulverston we don’t get water for two weeks sometimes but when the bills come we have to pay $28,000. I never applied for electricity because that would be an additional expense. I take care of five of my grandchildren and sometimes I cannot afford to send them to school or they have to go without food. I know it is not me alone but other people in this country crying out as well. They used to say that Amerindians would get preference in some ways but that is not true. One good thing though is that everyone gets free medical care at the Port Mourant Hospital and the doctors and nurses there are very nice.”
