The old saying “put some aside for the rainy days” comes to mind when one thinks of the plight of retrenched sugar workers, since most of them are suffering because their “rainy days” cookie jar is empty. Among those are 54-year-old Mohamed Farook and 47-year-old Deonauth Bisnauth of Enmore, East Coast Demerara.
Farook was employed at the Enmore Estate for 37 years as a cane transporter. His daily job entailed transporting cane from the fields to the factory in order for them to be processed. He, like many of his colleagues, vividly remembers being handed his redundancy letter. He said that he was close to retiring and then came the bad news, so now all the benefits he would have worked for over the past 37 years disappeared with a single letter.
Since he was handed his letter, Farook has been trying to gain employment since he has a 12-year-old daughter who recently started secondary school.
“I have to close my eyes from many things, because there is no income from anywhere. Seeking employment is hard because I send out application to everywhere and when you go for interview, them does tell you that age is the problem. I have to work, but I can’t get no work and it is hard for us here, because Enmore is dead and nothing nah happen here,” he said.
He said that for now he was planting and rearing what he eats in order to make up for his lack of income. Farook utilises the small space at the back of his home for a kitchen garden, and to rear some broiler chickens and goats.
“I do do some agriculture at the back because you got to eat. I does plant lil’ baigan and so and we does pick from there and cook. It does help save some money.”
He said because of his lack of income, he would delve into his savings which include the half of his severance package that he received from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
“If you go about this community, everybody will tell you the same thing and that is business slow back. This entire community and Enterprise was dependent on the estate and because of that things nah happen here. Even construction wuk hard to find, because money is not circulating,” Farook says.
For now Farook goes about his days tending to his goats and kitchen garden as well as checking the community and further afield for employment. He still has hope of being gainfully employed so that he can retire with enough savings to cover his expenses and that of his wife.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Enmore is Bisnauth, who is still struggling to make ends meet as he seeks to take care of his wife and two children. He was employed at the estate since he was 15 years old. He had accumulated 30 years of service prior to being handed his redundancy letter.
“Me was part of the first set of people that them pay off. When them give me the letter, me get stupidy because me nah know what fuh do. But then them say that we gon get wuk and so, but on to now me ah wait fuh a proper wuk to get money,” he said.
Bisnauth said that since his service was terminated, he has been doing odd jobs around the community for people since he cannot find steady employment because of his inability to read and write.
“I can’t read or write and when you go fuh security wuk, them ah tell you that you got to know fuh read and write and me nah get wuk. Me does ketch me hand with the NDC [Neighbourhood Democratic Council] for four days cleaning the trench, but that is that. The money does can’t pay because me got to take care of the whole house and pay all the bills and so. Things rough bad, bai; what me go tell you?” Bisnauth said plaintively.
He said that the severance payout he received was used to build a house for his family and now he has to work towards maintaining that house.
“All this years I work GuySuCo, and me just had couple years more before me retired and them man gone and do this. And we nah get wuk nowhere, bai, and everything ah raise. Next couple months me nah know what we go do in this place,” the dejected man said.
For now he continues to ride his bicycle around the village looking for odd jobs to supplement the $2300 he earns daily by cleaning the trenches in the area.
(Times Sunday Magazine)
