– in house where landlady removed stairway
A three-month-old baby, along with her mother and two other children, aged 3 and 11 years old, have been trapped in the upper flat of their rented home, situated at Lot 57 Durban Street, Lodge, Georgetown. They are consequently forced to dwell in a house filled with dirty laundry, whilst they have no water for domestic purposes, and the children cannot be afforded outdoor recreation.
Shouting to media operatives gathered in the yard as she stood in the doorway of her stairless home, Lorna Apple said the stairway of the house was removed by her landlady, Petal Knight, on Monday.
She explained that the upper flat of the house is divided into two apartments, and Petal Knight informed her, a few days prior to taking down the stairway, that she was having problems with the other set of tenants and wanted them out of the property, so she would be removing the stairway as a sign of protest and to send a message to the other tenants.
Ms Knight allegedly promised to erect a stairway at the back of the house to allow Ms Apple’s family normal ingress and egress to the building.
Ms. Apple said that after she had waited awhile and had received no word from Ms Knight, she decided to telephone her, and in process received a thorough buseing.
Ms Apple disclosed that she had never had a problem with Ms Knight, and that she had always been up to date with the paying of her rent. What has irked her is the attitude of the landlady, who seems not to care about her and her children, especially the three-month-old baby.
She said that during the unfortunate telephone call to Ms Knight, the woman made it quite clear that she had no interest in her or what her concerns were.
Ms Apple added that her partner was forced to build a ladder to enter the house from the back door. That ladder can in no way relieve the situation, since it was not properly done, and neither she nor the children are able to use the ladder.
Meanwhile, a neighbour who was present when the media visited the house today said he was very concerned for the woman and her children, especially the youngest. He said that the woman was unable to take her children out for the Easter Monday excitement. He had noticed the landlady taking down the stairway, but had no idea that the action was in response to a rift with the other tenant. He offered that had he been aware that that was the situation, he would have involved himself in representing Ms Apple in the situation.
Meanwhile, at approximately 17.58 hrs yesterday, this publication contacted the land lady, Petal Knight. The woman remorselessly said she was delaying replacement of the stairway because of her tenant, Lorna Apple, whom she contended had contacted her saying that her child father was assisting the other family to gain access to the building despite the stairway being removed.
Ms Knights said she informed Ms Apple that she would delay erecting the replacement stairway until her partner desisted from assisting the other family to gain access to the building. When this publication questioned Ms Knight’s rationale in putting the lives of the children at risk, she said she was not the one responsible for that.
It was not until after this reporter had informed Ms Knight of the dire legal consequences to her actions and possible involvement of the Ministry of Labour, Human Service and Social Security that the woman attempted to moderate her tone of voice.
She then informed that she was awaiting a contractor’s estimate for the reconstruction of the stairway.
Last evening, the Guyana Chronicle contacted the director of the Child Care and Protection Agency, Ms Ann Greene. After being briefed on the situation, the CC&PA head immediately directed this newspaper to contact a hotline of the department.
The matter was reported to the East La Penitence Police Station. But when the Guyana Chronicle contacted that police station, the officer-in-charge said she was not aware that children were also trapped in the home. She assured this publication that she would immediately send a patrol over to the house, and that she was in the process of sending a message to the Grove Police Station so that the police there could visit and apprehend the landlady.