Unity – A pleasant village characterised by a simple lifestyle
The scenic beauty of Unity Village
The scenic beauty of Unity Village

I always longed to visit a village which has little, if not any, ups and downs, and of course with an ambience that bespeaks pleasant tidings.

 

The Unity/Lancaster Health Centre
The Unity/Lancaster Health Centre

Well, I was thinking that finding such a village was a totally impossible feat, so it was with heavy heart that I set out recently for the village of Unity on the East Coast of Demerara.

When I arrived, I was in no way ready for the pleasant surprises that greeted me, since I soon found out that this village was inhabited by the most jovial, cheery, pleasant, and contented people ever.

School Teacher Lorese Seaforth keeps things tight and well organised at the Gibson Primary School.
School Teacher Lorese Seaforth keeps things tight and well organised at the Gibson Primary School.

To top things off, they left me totally amazed with tales of their humble beginnings and their simple means of existence.

Unity is a rural community located on the East Coast of Demerara, and is notable for being the birthplace of both Shivnarine Chanderpaul, former captain of the West Indies Cricket Team; Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, former President of Guyana; and Colin Croft, another talented cricketer. Guyanese cricketers the Arjune brothers also come from this community.

This village has a population of about 2,000 and is located at the mouth of the Mahaica River, about 20 miles east of Georgetown. Lancaster Village, immediately to the south, has a much smaller population. Fishing and farming are the main industries in the area, with the Mahaica River providing water for farming. The Mahaica Hospital, which includes Guyana’s only leprosy institution, is also close to the village.

It’s lunch time for the carpenters
It’s lunch time for the carpenters

In 2012, Shivnarine Chanderpaul rehabilitated the Unity cricket ground. The pitch was re-laid, outfield mowed and leveled, and the pavilion was rebuilt. The pavilion was named the Chetram Singh Stand in honour of the former Guyana Cricket Board president.

My Arrival
I arrived in the village when the sun was just beginning to heat up, and was greeted by smiling residents, some sitting by the road side while others were basking under the glory of fresh Atlantic breeze, as they enjoyed fresh fruits picked from their own back yards.

While there was a welcoming quietness to the village, this was interrupted occasionally by the bubbly chatter of housewives and young girls as they readied the midday meal for their spouses and male relatives, who were out fishing or tending to cash crops on their farms.

Liming by the street corner
Liming by the street corner

What amazed me was the dreamy arrangement of very impressive houses, while a fusion of yesteryear cottages gave the village a sedate and alluring appearance. Along the fences of many houses were beautiful arrays of tropical flowers in dashing shades, in some instances lending a quite stylish hue to small pathways and homely alleyways. This was certainly a little hidden jewel waiting to be discovered. I just loved it the moment I landed there.

Wondering what this impressive village was like before I asked an elderly man called ‘Cross’, and he related that the village was always quaint and nice, with its cluster of houses; but that there were no well-managed roads or waterways like today.

Getting that lunch ready for the little ones
Getting that lunch ready for the little ones

Today there are signs of economic development there, and a few businesses have sprung up in the likes of Dev Auto Sales, A.R.L Machinery, and Double ‘A’ Auto Spares and Gift Shop. There is also a health centre, and the Phantom’s Liquor Restaurant and Bar offers entertainment for villagers. That aside, the K & K Service Station is the haven for open air weekend parties and family entertainment for villagers. This facility has an ice-cream parlour, fast food outlet, and the other amenities that come with ‘family entertainment’. There is also the Unity/Lancaster Sports Club that offers leisure time opportunities for youths.

Chatting with residents

These two chums relax ‘country style’ to avoid the scorching midday sun
These two chums relax ‘country style’ to avoid the scorching midday sun

Twenty-one-year-old Johnny Persaud gave me a warm welcome and even got up to gave me his seat as he engaged me in conversation. The young man was particularly concerned about what he described as the inability of qualified youths to find meaningful employment in the village.

“I am very glad yuh come bass, because we get ah employment crisis in the village, especially with youths who just come out of school and trying to find a proper job close by. I have a few subjects and I have been sending out applications, but there is really nothing to do around here, and not everybody would be interested in farming and fishing.

“I want to be able to utilise my qualifications, but I can’t do so here in the village, since there is no scope for much meaningful employment,” he said.

Johnny Persaud worries about the lack of employment in the village for youths
Johnny Persaud worries about the lack of employment in the village for youths

Johnny and a group of young men were particularly concerned about the garbage build-up in many areas of the village. He explained that villagers and outsiders would dump garbage practically anywhere, especially on the sea dam, instead of burning it, like the minority would do.

According to the young men, the authorities responsible for cleaning up the village have been doing a haphazard job, and this was reflected in the many irrigation trenches that were overgrown with weeds and other vegetation, and were littered with garbage.

According to two housewives, some careless residents have developed the habit of burning garbage around the base of some GPL power poles, not realising or not caring that this practice can weaken and damage the poles.

Garbage disposal poses a major problem in the village
Garbage disposal poses a major problem in the village

One gentleman said they even placed signs at the sea dam to deter persons from dumping garbage there, but this has not made any impact on the culprits. They said that even some businesses in the area would dump large heaps of refuse there as well.

The garbage problem seems to be sorely affecting persons who reside along Cremation Road, the Sea Dam and the Low Land areas. Another concern of some villagers is that, during high tides, there is flooding in the village, since the water comes over the structure placed there to keep it out.

Seeta Ramlall’s concerns

Getting that lunch ready for the little ones
Getting that lunch ready for the little ones

Seeta Ramlall is a cheery young lady who is bubbly with star-filled eyes. While she is very shy of cameras, she nevertheless voiced her concern about the harassment of young boys in the village, who she said would smoke marijuana and harass very young females.

“Sir, dis is a very nice and quiet village, but I get wan problem dat I want fuh talk bout, and dat is them young bais wha deh bout de village smoking ganga and troubling dem lil fifteen-year-old gyal when dem passing. Some ah dem really getting brave and pulling at dem gyal, and when yuh try fuh talk to dem, deh ready fuh cuss yuh out. I think de police should do something about dem,” she lamented.

The garbage war continues

Housewife Latchmie Mohammed relaxes after a trip to the doctor
Housewife Latchmie Mohammed relaxes after a trip to the doctor

It appears as though the ‘garbage clashes’ happen mostly in the squatting area of the village, and vegetable vendor Terry Ramlall was more than ready to explain why:
“Sir, let me tell you something: I living in the squatting areas, and the garbage problem there would never done, because some people are just too nasty and lazy. Some of them living there would throw the garbage in front of the houses of their neighbours, and this would normally create big problems.

“Very often there are cuss outs because, instead of burning the garbage, some people maliciously throw it wherever they seem pleased. I does normally run into problems with plenty people because of this practice. But nat me; dem know me mouth ain’t gat covah, suh I does let dem have it de moment dem step out ah line”.

Vendor Terry Ramlall discusses the village’s plight with garbage
Vendor Terry Ramlall discusses the village’s plight with garbage

According to Terry the build-up of garbage in this area leaves a pungent scent in some areas of the village, which makes some residents’ lives definitely uncomfortable.

A contented soul despite constraints

Fisherman Alfred Balkaran is a humble soul, despite constraints that surround his trade
Fisherman Alfred Balkaran is a humble soul, despite constraints that surround his trade

Alfred Balkaran is a 38-year-old fisherman who seems movingly contented despite the constraints encountered in his profession.

While he has been a fisherman for the past 21 years, he said, the seasonal availability of fish in the ocean can often bring grave setbacks for those depending on the trade for survival.

“Me ah do dis wuk fuh 21 years now, and dis ah all me know since me ah wan young bai. Yuh see me nah guh far in school, suh me had tuh settle fuh de only ready employment in de village. Dis wuk hard bad, and is nah every day ah Christmas. Sometimes we barely ah catch fish, and some day me would come home wid $500 or $1,000, which could hardly cook wan meal fuh de family.

“But wha me guh duh? Meh gat fuh accept life as it is. At least me ah manage fuh survive and eat every day,” he disclosed.

The seemingly humble fisherman informed that he has two daughters (10 and 7 years old) whom he would leave in his mother’s care when he is at sea.
Balkaran, a single-parent, divulged that the mother of his daughters is a selfish character who has no time with him or the girls. He literally begged to let it be known that he is desperately searching for a caring and loving woman. The man was so serious in his bidding that he even provided his phone number — 664-8477.

‘Auntie Bootie’ is loved by everyone

A radiant beam of light brightens up the village on a daily basis, and even I was taken aback and marvelled at its intensity. Folks, I am talking of the endearing, mirthful and jolly soul of Dhanandei Ramrattan, aka ‘Auntie Bootie’, who is loved by villagers young and old.

I was instantly endeared of her the moment I bumped into her selling confectionery, egg balls, polouri and lemonade outside the Gibson Primary School,. When I told her my business in the village, she girlishly insisted that I sit down and sample some of her delicious polouri.

She begged me for a lengthy period to put my money back in my pocket, and only accepted it when I sweetly hugged her and informed that I am aware of her struggles to make a living.

Villagers swarmed her makeshift stall from far and near to savour her items, and her channa was the best I had ever tasted. The school children hugged her and flocked her like she was an angel, and many of them succeeded in getting ‘freebees’, much to their childish delight.

The Gibson Primary School
The Gibson Primary School

Grown men and women were all smiles when they gathered at her stall, and I marvelled at the warmth and pure love she exuded.
The sixty-six-year-old woman has been selling in the village for the past forty-seven years to make a living. Her ailing husband is a pensioner and has trouble with his vision. However, he ensures she gets up at 01:30 hours every day to prepare her items for sale, which she said is most times

gruelling. She sells to put food on the table and to pay her husband’s medical bills.

Dhanandei Ramrattan (Auntie Bootie) is a heart-warmer to villagers
Dhanandei Ramrattan (Auntie Bootie) is a heart-warmer to villagers

On a daily basis, at about 05:00 hours, she bathes and prepares her husband’s breakfast, before heading out to the school compound at 07:00 hours.

However, she is appealing for someone to build her a proper structure in which she could sell, since strong gusts of wind would blow apart some sections of a crazy makeshift creation of old wood, mesh and pieces of rusted zinc sheets in which she sells.

A lovable grand-father

Grandfather Shaheed Rahaman shares a light moment with his grandson, Teeran Rahaman, whom he says is ‘the apple of his eye’.
Grandfather Shaheed Rahaman shares a light moment with his grandson, Teeran Rahaman, whom he says is ‘the apple of his eye’.

I was particularly stirred by the sight of 54-year-old Shaheed Rahaman, all engrossed in showering attention on his cute little grandson, Teeran Rahaman, as he enjoyed lemonade at Auntie Bootie’s stall.

I began chatting with him, and he explained the bond between himself and the toddler. “This little chap here is the love of my life, and I couldn’t live a day without hugging or kissing him. He is my pride and joy, and gives me extra strength to live on. When I am playing with him all my stress and problems seem to fade, and my troubles are no more”.

Fisherman Ramesh Datchickerrie readies his favourite meal of Carila and preserved shrimp
Fisherman Ramesh Datchickerrie readies his favourite meal of Carila and preserved shrimp

Mr. Rahaman plants a little kitchen garden to keep food on the table, and depends on the little he gets from his children. He explained that life was hard for him since he left school in Standard Three to help out in the home, and he soon found employment at the Boodhu Coconut Plantation in the village.

He had been a student of the Gibson Government School, and when his father died while he was still young, he and three brothers had to come up with means of helping their mother to make ends meet.

There is a kitchen garden in almost every yard
There is a kitchen garden in almost every yard

However, he is ailing from a serious abdominal condition, and had two surgeries recently. This has slowed him up a bit, and he is earnestly hoping that someone out there or folks at the Food for the Poor Guyana Inc. would donate some garden tools to him. Come on, Food for the Poor, pretty please lend a hand where help is most desperately needed!

A pensioner laments unfairness by GPL and GWI
Pensioner Seenauth Deen Pargas practically wept when he related a woeful tale of mistreatment at the hands of folks at the Guyana Power and Light entity (GPL) and the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI).

Pensioner Seenauth Deen Pargas laments unfair treatment he encountered at the GPL and GWI entities
Pensioner Seenauth Deen Pargas laments unfair treatment he encountered at the GPL and GWI entities

The weeping man, who is a security at the Unity/Lancaster IC Training Centre, explained that he has been paying his water bills up to date, and he provided the bills to substantiate this claim. He said that, five days ago, he arrived home from work to receive the shocking news that GWI had cut off his water supply. The man said that although his wife kept telling them the bills were up to date, the tap was turned off because she could not find the latest bill while he was not at home. He said the next day he took the bill to GWI, and almost fainted when he was told by a representative there that his water was cut off some three years ago, even though he had a bill that was paid as recent as last month.

Stuttering in anger, the man said that he was told he would now have to pay $168,000, and since he needed the precious liquid, he paid down $24,000 so far. He said that after paying the reconnection fee, GWI told him that he had damaged the ‘pipe saddle’, which almost sent him into a coma. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he explained that this piece was damaged when repairs were done close to a road just outside his home.
As if his troubles would never end, Mr. Pargas said that for months his electricity meter was ‘working and sticking’. He said he reported this fact to GPL several times, but not a soul came to fix it.

According to the troubled man GPL recently staged a campaign in the Unity/Lancaster area and removed his meter, claiming that the meter had been ‘tampered with’. The man related that he was forced to pay $10,000 to have a new meter replaced, and an additional $3,500 reconnection fee.

He said that at the GPL office he was told that he would have to pay a total of $109,000 in arrears, since they had backdated the meter by six months. He said he was given two weeks to pay at least half of that amount.

Prominent figures

In the year 2012, the villages of Unity and neighbouring Lancaster honoured home grown star cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul at a simple ceremony at the Unity/Lancaster cricket ground. The club unveiled a signboard featuring Chanderpaul, and will also kick start a cricket Academy in January 2013. The academy was named the Shivnarine Chanderpaul Cricket Academy.

Students at play during their lunch break
Students at play during their lunch break

The club had also commissioned the Chetram Singh pavilion during the ceremony. Singh is a former president of the Guyana Cricket Board, and he hails from Unity village.

Cricket commentator Naim Chan spoke of Chanderpaul’s achievements in the game; while Chanderpaul, in his remarks, thanked the organisers and said he appreciated the fact that his village acknowledged his contribution towards the game over the years, and supported him from the beginning of his career.

He was quoted as saying: “Cricket and education go hand in hand. We are here not only to develop our cricket skills; we have to develop better citizens. This would come about through hard work, dedication and determination.”

Shivnarine ‘The Tiger’ Chanderpaul

Shivnarine Chanderpaul in action
Shivnarine Chanderpaul in action

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was born in Unity Village on August 16, 1974.
He provides a notable counterpoint to the contemporary game of cricket, being at the same time inimitable and timeless – no more a product of his period than a kitchen clock, and yet not a creature of the past either.
He goes about it in his own sweet and deceptively frail way, relying on deflections and glides, hands as opposed to forearms, a wand as opposed to a tree trunk, persuasion and perseverance as opposed to power. He is a rubber man put among concrete pillars. In short, he is a reminder that, even now, cricket has many faces and talent can take many forms.

It has taken a boy from a distant fishing village to remind us that sporting techniques cannot be pinned in a book like a dead butterfly, or refined into a mathematical formula.

Chanderpaul’s career shows that an ambitious sportsman can defy the straitjacket of conventional thought and even scientific analysis and still make his way in the game.
Chanderpaul is, and always has been, an excellent batsman. Otherwise, he could not have lasted as long or produced as consistently. His technique was honed in a geographic – but not cricketing – backwater. Admittedly, Unity Village did not have advanced facilities or proven coaches, let alone dieticians, psychologists or sponsors; but it did have plenty of fishing nets, tidal waters, and willing assistants.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo originated from Unity Village
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo originated from Unity Village

H.E. Bharrat Jagdeo (born January 23, 1964) is a Guyanese politician who was President of Guyana from August 11, 1999 to December 3, 2011. He holds a number of global leadership positions in the areas of sustainable development, green growth and climate change.
Prior to his presidency, he was Minister of Finance, and became President after President Janet Jagan resigned from that post for health reasons. He subsequently won two elections, in 2001 and 2006. He was the first President of Guyana to relinquish office in accordance with term limits he signed into the Guyanese Constitution. Jagdeo was born in Unity Village on the East Coast of Demerara.

President Jagdeo was elected as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in September, 2005. He occupied this position until September 2006.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) identified Jagdeo as one of its inaugural Young Global Leaders in 2006. Time Magazine named Jagdeo as one of their “Heroes of the Environment” in 2008, and he was awarded the United Nations “Champion of the Earth” award in 2010.

Who would have ever believed that a former ‘village boy’ from Unity would have emerged to be president of the Republic of Guyana?

Colin Croft

Colin Croft was another phenomenal cricketer from Unity Village
Colin Croft was another phenomenal cricketer from Unity Village

Colin Everton Hunte Croft was born on March 15, 1953 in Lancaster Village, East Coast Demerara, Guyana. He attended the Central High School in Georgetown, where he developed a reputation as a fearsome fast bowler right from his early days of playing for his high school. When Croft’s family took up residence in a Georgetown neighbourhood with a reputation for being tough, it must have had some influence on his cricketing career in later life.
After an uneventful beginning in regional youth cricket, Croft was ‘thrown to the wolves’ in his first class debut for Guyana in a famous encounter with Jamaica, against a batting lineup that included Lawrence Rowe and Maurice Foster. Though quite quick, the Jamaica batsmen scored heavily off the inexperienced fast bowler. Later in the match, however, Roy Fredericks exacted some revenge by hitting Jamaica’s Uton Dowe for 22 runs in his first over.

Consistent performances in regional cricket earned Croft a place in the President’s XI against Pakistan in St Lucia in 1977, and he seized his opportunity with both hands, taking 10 wickets in the match.

Along with ‘Big Bird’ Joel Garner, Colin Croft made his Test debut at Kensington Oval in Barbados against Pakistan on 18 February 1977, where he took 7 wickets; but his second Test, at Queen’s Park Oval, brought even greater rewards. Bowling fast leg-cutters, Croft took 8 wickets for 29 runs in Pakistan’s first innings – the best ever figures for a West Indian fast bowler. In addition, he caused Sadiq Mohammed to retire hurt on zero, after which wickets tumbled quickly.

In a relatively brief Test career lasting just five years, Croft established a reputation as one of the most feared fast bowlers around, with apparently no qualms about inflicting pain on batsmen.

Starting in 1994, Croft has been a cricket commentator/analyst covering West Indies tours and writing extensively for Cricinfo. His first cricket assignment in England was in 1995. During the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, he provided analysis for the BBC’s Test Match Special radio coverage on all the Guyana-based matches. He continued his analyst’s role during the West Indies tour of England the same year.

In his private life, having been an Air Traffic Controller from 1973 to 1981 while playing for the West Indies, he obtained a Commercial Airline Pilot’s licence in the USA, with endorsements for the UK, and worked as a Commercial Pilot in the Caribbean.

He was often dubbed as ‘Colin Croft: The meanest of the West Indian fast bowling terrors.’

Conclusion
Come ride with me to this interesting village where the camaraderie and harmony will leave you spellbound. Come swoon in delight at the smiles and pleasantries of the residents, or just hop into the fruit trees and have your fill of tropical delicacies. Whatever you do, stay for a weekend to see ‘how country people does party in fine style’.

Make sure you call me up, because I definitely want to join you in a little freestyle gyration to some heady country music….

Next week, I will bring you the mysteries of Bath Settlement, where the fun never stops…. Bye for now, folks.
By Alex Wayne

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