School children commuting on the Pomeroon travel without protection of life jackets

WHY would parents of school-aged children in the Pomeroon refuse the offer to have their children accommodated at dorms provided by the Regional Administration at Charity and Anna Regina, thus daily exposing them to dangerous modes of travel costing exorbitant prices?

The Regional Administration has long been trying to grapple with this dilemma; and while it is the general perception that parents would prefer to have their children ‘live under their own roof’, with the steady increase in the cost of fuel, parents are beginning to ‘feel the squeeze’, and some are crying out.
The Guyana Chronicle recently discussed with residents in the Charity/Pomeroon area the problem of the steep speed-boat travel costs. Residents claimed that many of the children travelling from Grants along the Lower Pomeroon to attend primary and secondary schools at Charity have to pay one-way speedboat costs ranging between $500 (for smaller children) and $1,000 for older ones (depending on where in the Pomeroon they live). And for those attending schools at Anna Regina, there is the added minibus fare, which could be about $500 return.
Simply put, it could, at minimum, cost anything between $1500 and $2000 per day per child. For households where say three children have to travel from the Pomeroon to Charity from Monday to Friday and for lessons on Saturdays, this could cost a pretty penny.
Some families are now proposing that the regional administration introduce a special boat service for school children at a reduced cost, so as to ease the financial burden on parents’ pockets.
The Guyana Chronicle raised this request with the Regional Executive Officer for Pomeroon-Supenaam, Mr. Sunil Singh, who recalled that, sometime in the past, a private humanitarian arrangement had been put in place to facilitate reduced travel cost to school children. However, for reasons unknown to him, the service was discontinued.
Singh also reminded that Region Two is operating four dormitories at Charity, Anna Regina, Pomona and Wakapao to benefit children living far distances away from school. Charity dorm alone can accommodate 200 students. However, it is unfortunate, he said, that all of these facilities are currently under-utilized.
Under such circumstances, the regional administration would like to reiterate its call to parents to make use of the safe and comfortable facilities provided for the children. The added benefits, he said, would be that, with the daily rigours of travelling up and down the waterways removed, children would be able to focus more time and attention on school work.
However, one of the concerns foremost in the parents’ minds is the incidence of ‘demonic attacks’ children at the Charity dorms have come under from time to time; and so, naturally, parents have reservations.
In the meantime, speedboat operatives are resolutely holding on to their fare structures, claiming that it would not be cost effective for them to reduce their fares, since they have to contend with steadily rising fuel costs.

Dangerous travel
But even as speed boat operatives haggle for their fares and refuse to flex, it was observed that they are committing a fundamental breach of the Maritime Laws by not providing life jackets for their passengers.
The use of life-jackets is seemingly alien to persons plying the Pomeroon waterways, and everyone seems comfortable with that. And this is despite the Pomeroon waterway being currently littered with floating dry coconuts which, coming into contact with propellers of boats, could prove disastrous.
Asked for a comment on this development, the Regional Executive Officer gave this publication this grim prognosis: “Depending on the speed at which the boat is travelling, if a coconut is hit by a 200 H.P. motor, everybody would be thrown overboard.”
Singh said the regional administration has collaborated with the maritime administration to carry out campaigns ad nauseam, attempting to sensitize the public about the importance of wearing life jackets when travelling in open boats; but the travelling public in that part of the region has not been viewing the situation with the seriousness it deserves, and so have not been complying.
Many contend the travelling public from Pomeroon does not want to share life jackets with other people. And even though, in the interest of their personal safety, they are free to provide their own jackets, they still continue to travel without jackets.

Maritime intervention
But there’s news for the defaulting speedboat operatives. The maritime administration is reminding licensed speedboat operators of their obligation to provide life jackets for their passengers before taking off on any journey.
Contacted, Director of Maritime Safety, Mr. Stephen Thomas, said there is a penalty for certified operators failing to equip their vessels and provide passengers with life jackets, and that is because they could be prosecuted and fined, or have their operational licences suspended. Accordingly, the administration is moving to intensify its campaign to get speedboat operators to comply with the rule.
Meanwhile, Thomas said, as an incentive to getting people to use life jackets, the Maritime Administration has, of late, been distributing free life jackets in hope that recipients are making good use of them. He said that, earlier in the year, the people of Pomeroon were issued about 100 jackets; and just last week, areas in the Demerara river were targeted.
Reiterating his call for compliance, Thomas would like to remind the travelling public of the seriousness of wearing life-jackets. “Life jackets are important. They save lives in the event of a river disaster, and offer even greater life protection than a seat belt in an automobile would in a motor vehicular crash,” he said.

(By Shirley Thomas)