By Shabna Rahman
Jimmy, a Venezuelan national from the Warrau tribe, was among a few family members who travelled to Guyana about two years ago, but ended up living with almost 70 others in the same house at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara.
He had secured a job with the owner of a fishing boat, Shameer and would go out at sea for about one week sometimes.
Shameer owns a vacant house near his home and has allowed Jimmy and his family to live there.
The economic situation in Venezuela keeps getting worse and thousands of Venezuelans have fled the hardships and have sought refuge in Guyana and other countries.
Some of them had told this newspaper that they had to line up from early in the mornings to late at nights, to purchase groceries. But when their turn finally came to go into the supermarkets, the shelves would be empty because everything was sold out.
They would hardly get jobs and when they do, the pay would be meagre and would not be enough for them to get by. Ever since, the Venezuelans, including young children, have risked their lives to travel to Guyana by boat.
Many of them have been squatting along the sea dams in different parts of the country, such as Tuschen, Zeelugt, Parika, East Bank Essequibo, Grove, East Bank Demerara and at Kuru Kuru, Linden Highway.
In the case of the Warraus at Zeeburg, less than a year ago, many more started coming and there are currently about 12 families living there. Only a few of the men are working and the women would be home cooking and taking care of their children.
After learning about their situation, several people have gone to the house and have been distributing cooked food, clothing, food packages and other items to them.
Otherwise, they would take their children and go around to business places where they would receive help.
When Stabroek News learnt about the number of people living together in one house, we decided to visit to see how that could be possible.
When we got there, we asked for Jimmy because we were told that he was the only one who could speak a little English.
It turned out there were at least two more of them who spoke English while some of them understood the language.
There were lots of people, including babies as well as children of all ages, in the yard and upstairs in the veranda.
It was also observed that the yard was in an unsanitary condition, with garbage and pieces of clothing and other items, scattered everywhere.
Cleft lip
One baby in particular caught our attention. She has a cleft lip and milk she was fed earlier was around from mouth.
The baby’s mother told us, through Jimmy that she really wants to get help for the baby to have surgery to correct her lips. She said it is difficult to feed the baby, who clearly seemed to be in a lot of discomfort.
Jimmy’s uncle gave us a tour of the three-bedroom house, that also needs a good cleaning. Several hammocks were hung everywhere in both the upper and lower flat and items were also scattered throughout the house.
Only a small section of the lower flat is partially enclosed. At the time of this newspaper’s visit, a woman was there preparing dinner for her family. When she was done, she and her husband and a little child sat together and were enjoying it from one bowl.
Some of the other women were busy emptying food items from bags that were donated to them, while others were sitting on the concrete floor, in hammocks and on the veranda with their children. They didn’t seem to mind that their surroundings were not tidy.
One neighbour came out and told us that while the people are getting a lot of help with food and clothing, they need better living conditions.
“They need a better place to live… it is not nice how so many of them are living in the same house like that…”
Another neighbour said the Warraus need help with washroom facilities. There is one pit latrine in the yard at the back, but with so many people having to use it, the smell really affects them.
The neighbours called on the government to assist these families with the resources to improve their lives.
Halim Khan, head of the regional private sector body, who lives nearby and operates the Madina’s Halaal Restaurant, said almost every day some of them would be in front of his eatery and he would give them food.
He said that they would walk from one point to another and sit in front of various other business places as well. The owners of the businesses would feel sorry for them and help them with cash and other items, like food and clothing.
He said the government became aware of their presence in the community during the local government elections.
They went and sat under a tent belonging to the Guyana Elections Commission at Meten-Meer-Zorg and the workers thought they had just arrived with a boat from Venezuela.
Further checks led government officials as well as the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to the house at Zeeburg where they live. At that time, there were less than 50 people occupying the house.
Khan said President Irfaan Ali got involved and instructed the relevant ministries to assist them.
The Amerindian Affairs Committee had provided them with the hammocks and other basic necessities, while officials from the Ministry of Health had also visited them and did medical checkups.
Khan said the CDC also rendered assistance.
The children are not attending school and plans were being made for them to be taught English right there.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, another boat brought about 80 Venezuelans near the Tuschen Sea Dam.
Most of them were detained by the police. They were documented before being taken to the Leonora and the Parika police stations and then released.
