Deo Persaud and his wife, Sereme Persaud, who hails from the community, are blaming the sloth by the former Santa Rosa Village Council for the recent move to dismantle a shop they built on the property, which they were ordered to vacate.
The Persauds, who have three children, are also alleging that Deo Persaud has been subjected to insults by members of the community during pressure to have them give up the land.
But Toshao of Santa Rosa, Richard Cornelius, who noted that the issue was being dealt with extensively by the previous village council, said the couple could still appeal a recent decision to deny the application for the property.
He said members of the past council were dissatisfied with the manner in which Deo Persaud approached them to obtain rights to the land as well as his general behaviour within the community.
A decade ago, Persaud, then a fisherman, moved to Moruca to live with his wife, who he met in the city. They eventually decided to relocate to Moruca, where they stayed temporarily with her relatives. Persaud said that as time passed, the couple opened a sweets stand on a small parcel of land that his wife managed to obtain through another relative in the community. He said that soon after, the family managed to build their own home, which his wife described as a small wooden cottage without a floor, since it was all they could afford.
Persaud, who is now physically-disabled after a botched surgery three years ago, said that the family’s small business started to grow, with them selling “almost anything” to make ends meet.
Sitting in obvious discomfort, Persaud stated that in mid-2011, he and his wife decided to expand their small business by setting up a shop at another section of the community but he noted that their plans hinged on the transfer of the land to his wife’s name, for the land which she paid. He said that it was the village council which was foot-dragging on the issue, since the process had to pass through the council.
According to him, the family was told by a member of the council that they could go ahead and build the shop. He said that the area, which is a small 20 ft x 10 ft parcel of land, is located at an area called Rincon within Santa Rosa, within walking distance from the waterfront. His wife noted that with the help of residents, she started to build the shop to maintain her family.
However, she said that around November 15 last year, her husband had been at the receiving end of insults from persons within the community.
She said that the village council then ordered her to dismantle the shop but she noted that she had rights to the land, since she paid for it and it was the council which was taking its time in transferring the land into her name.
She said that her husband was even threatened by the village council members at the time and after holding a meeting several days later, the council moved in and her shop was dismantled. She said that in November last year, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai and a team from the region visited, during which time she was given three days to vacate the land.
She said she informed the minister that the business was her only source of an income to maintain her and her three young children and her husband, but it was in vain.
Stabroek News was told that Sukhai was unavailable when attempts were made to reach her for comment on the issue.
Cornelius, meanwhile, said that he met Persaud recently and he informed the man that he can make a fresh application to occupy the land. He said that the man’s wife completed the application for the council’s approval, but last week the council turned down the application. However, he noted that the family is eligible for an appeal and, according to him, the council can reconsider its decision at a later date.
According to Cornelius, the village lands belong to the community and he noted that Persaud’s family is the main factor that will be considered when the council deliberates on the matter in future. He said that he is doing his best to see how much assistance he can give to the family.
Explaining his condition, Persaud stated that in 2009 a surgery was performed on him for appendicitis at the Suddie Hospital, on the Essequibo Coast. But the man noted that the Cuban team of doctors “like them experiment pon me because it left me almost crippled and right now I can barely walk.” He said that he was told that an error was made during the surgery.
He had in his possession a medical document to this effect, which was signed and stamped by medical personnel at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
It stated that Persaud is unable to walk properly and unable to work and it stated too that the man is unlikely to recover from the ailment.
Persaud said that at the moment the family relies on whatever assistance it receives from relatives as well as public assistance, from which he benefits.
