TODAY marks six years since, two sugar workers, Maikhram Sawh and Sampersaud Taranauth went missing leaving their family members with a lot of questions and grief.
Maikhram Sawh called Bharrat, 46, of Section ‘B’ Non Pariel and Sampersaud Taranauth nicknamed ‘Shammie’, 37, of Fernandes Street, Enterprise, who left their respective homes to go to work four years ago, today, never returned. The two sugar workers, who were the sole breadwinners for their families, mysteriously disappeared on May 21, 2005 while cleaning a Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) drainage canal aback the then violence-prone East Coast Demerara village of Vigilance. It has been exactly six dark, desolate, distressing years since the two men mysteriously vanished in the volatile and dangerous East Coast backlands.
Jaswanttie Sawh, wife of Maikhram Sawh during a visit yesterday said that after her husband disappeared it has never been the same for her.
The grieving woman with tears in her eyes yesterday told the Guyana Chronicle that she now has to work in the kitchen garden to support herself but many times she is in ill health.
She added that since the incident no one has bothered to check on her welfare and is hoping that she can receive her husband’s National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits but was told that she would have to wait until seven years have passed.
Meanwhile, Taranauth’s wife, Kamini said today is a day of reflection and her three daughters keep her going through the motions of everyday life.
The trio, Sumeita 12, Elizabeth, 10 and Divya, six were away from home at school yesterday but said the children still ask for their father and whether he will return home.
Kamini noted she is faced with a problem as she has been unable to get any public assistance for her eldest daughter since January and is asking that someone assist her since she tried on several occasions to meet with the relevant authority to address the problem.
The woman burst into tears yesterday when asked how she was coping to bring up her children alone but said that she has since secured a job as a domestic worker in the village and when the children are away at school she goes to work.
Kamini added that she feels much stressed since she knows the anniversary will come but she is trying to be strong for her children.
She said: “I am really trying but it is difficult to bring up three daughters alone that is why I had to go to work but if my husband was here I would never had to work but life goes on even though it is so difficult.”
Since the men went missing, they have not received any ransom demand or information about their whereabouts, despite searches by the Army and Police.