Cramped in rickety wooden homes with no water, electricity or drainage, residents describe life in Plastic City, a depressed section of Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara, as a real struggle.
Although they are thankful to have a roof over their heads, they are eagerly awaiting the day when they would be relocated to a more comfortable environment.
They suffer constant flooding during the high tide and rainy weather and are often at risk of contracting sicknesses such as waterborne diseases or colds.
Whenever the area is flooded it is almost impossible for them to leave their homes. They also said a section of the seawall is eroding and that a dam needs to be built urgently to alleviate the situation.
People started squatting in the mangrove swamp over 25 years ago because they had nowhere else to go and also because it was cheaper to live there. Now there are over 20 houses hidden amid the thick mangroves.
Stabroek News learnt that the area was known as ‘Railway Road’ but the name had changed because the original dwellings were made out of plastic.
There are also reports that the area was surveyed and the houses close to the shore were to be removed to make way for the building of a “wall” to prevent flooding.
Residents have to fill water from about 200 rods away for drinking, washing and other household chores.
The “water line” was passed underground through the area and ran to the Guyana Water Inc’s substation. Residents are not allowed to “bore the line” to get water and were told that if they were caught doing so they would be jailed.
Residents from one section had obtained house lots in 2013 and moved out of the area. Some of the other residents were given the option of purchasing lots as well but could not afford the cost.
Hilda Stephen was one of those persons. She was granted a house lot at Parfait Harmonie but at the time she did not have the $29,000 required and ended up losing the opportunity.
She had moved to Plastic City 20 years ago after purchasing the house from a friend. Now she is so desperate to move that she has started to “save the money piece by
