By Francis Quamina Farrier

THERE are those times when one can stand long enough on the bank of a river and see the tide turn. In life, those who have been around for a long enough time would have seen the Tides of Life rise and fall and rise again, many times.

In this feature, I am actually placing the focus on Linden town, as the three communities of Mackenzie, Wismar and Christianburg, moved from Apartheid in the pre-1960s colonial British Guiana, to small businesses in Linden of the Republic of Guyana, in the Region 10 mining town on the Upper Demerara River. In Guyana, as in similar ‘Third World Countries’, there is always a myriad of very small businesses which add to the economy of the country. On two of my four visits to Linden in 2017, I interacted with one cute little enterprise in that rapidly developing municipality.

It is already known that I spent a period of my pre-teen years at Christianburg, and was a student at the Christianburg Scots School back in 1945. I was there when the Second World War ended, and have clear memories of the jollification of the people when they heard that Germany was defeated. Some Guyanese fought in that War defending King and Country – the British Empire – of which British Guiana was the only British Territory in South America. At that time, a mining company from that vast sister Commonwealth country of Canada, was already extracting millions of dollars of our Bauxite, and apartheid was well established at Mackenzie; there were sections of that community where non-whites were prohibited from going.

Over the decades, I have travelled from Georgetown to Linden many times and by various means. My very first plane flight, which was by a Grumman Goose amphibious plane, was from Ruimveldt (the western end of Ramp Road) to Mackenzie. I’ve done that Georgetown journey 65 miles up the Demerara River also by launch, by steamer – the MV R.H.CARR – and by speedboat. In the pre-Soesdyke/Linden Highway era, I also did the journey by land Rover and by foot. YES, you read that correctly – by FOOT. I did a solo three-day walk from Georgetown to Mackenzie in 1964. That is listed among my life’s Great Outdoor Adventures.

As such, I have an affinity with what is now known as LINDEN; which is the umbrella name for the three communities of Mackenzie, Wismar and Christianburg. Every year I visit Linden at least three times and observe the on-going developments of that Bauxite Town, as it is often referred.

During last year, 2017, my visits numbered four, and the most interesting one was my return to be at the Wisburg Secondary School for its 10th Anniversary. It was something which I had planned 10 years previously, when I was at a special event for the official launch of the school. Actually, the school was there some years before, but on November 18, 2007, there was a big event at which Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister of Education Sheik Baksh, Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo and British High Commissioner, Fraser Wheeler, were among the many in attendance.

Going back to the pre-Linden days of the Canadian owned and operated Bauxite Company, when apartheid was practiced there, I have a reasonably good knowledge of Linden and the many industrial turmoils which were played out there. There were many stressful relationships, especially when race issues were a factor. There was the incident when a local handyman accidentally fell into the Watooka House swimming pool which was exclusive to the whites. The pool had to be emptied and thoroughly cleaned, before being refilled for use by the Canadians.

There was another incident worthy of mention; the Canadian Management and a team of Guyanese Union Leaders were seated around a table trying to iron out an industrial issue. One of the Canadians who had his legs crossed, in changing from one leg to the other, one of his feet came into contact with the leg of one of the Guyanese. That was interrupted as a “kick”, and all hell broke loose.

In more recent years, there has been high drama at Linden; this time between Guyanese and Guyanese. In July 2012, Police opened fire on a group of demonstrators on the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge, killing four and injuring many more. That was not the first time that there was such real-life drama on that bridge. The first was the closing down of the bridge by social activists in June 2008.

That came about when a large group of workers were marching across the bridge from Christianburg and Wismar to Mackenzie to hold a Public Meeting. While yet on the bridge, a commercial vehicle from Georgetown proceeded to drive through the demonstrators, and as some of them told me when I visited the bridge, “The driver was putting the safety and very lives of the marchers at risk.” So the vehicle was made to stop by some of the braver marchers. A decision was then made to occupy the bridge. That was not the original plan, I was told. However, let’s go back three decades before that and briefly review the hard work of a small business operated by my Aunt Dolly.

My Aunt Dolly was a robust lady – both physically and mentally – who did trading both on the ferry boat, the MV R.H.CARR, which was operated by Sprostons – the fore-runner of GNIC. She did good business both on the steamer while on its way from Georgetown, as well as at Wismar. From her hard work as a self-employed person over the years, she became relatively well-off, owning property at Agricola. Let me also mention an ugly feature of that steamer, the MV R.H.CARR; it was painted all white.

In the earlier colonial years, the company discriminated against the locals and operated an apartheid system on the steamer; only whites could travel upstairs in First Class – the locals were accommodated only on the Second Class deck. One such passenger who experienced that indignity was a young barrister-at-law who was travelling from Georgetown to Christianburg to represent a client at the courthouse there; he was Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.

We’ll now fast forward to Linden town of 2017. I’ll now tell you about Mr Blue Man, a self-employed resident of Linden. I first met Mr Blue Man on Saturday, July 15, 2017. I was walking along Republic Avenue at Linden and Mr Blue Man was riding his two-wheel mini cake shop. As he went by he hailed me out asking whether I wanted anything to buy from him. As I approached this mobile small business, I got a whiff of cassava pone. I bought one. It was delicious. I next met Mr Blue Man when on another visit to Linden on Tuesday, November 28, 2017. It was near the Mackenzie Municipal Market. That time I hailed him out. I bought two pones on that occasion. However, Mr Blue Man engaged me in a conversation informing me of an upcoming project of his.

As I looked closely into the face of Mr Blue Man, I could observe his pride of being his own boss. Of setting his own goals for a better life for himself and his family. Of earning “The Good Life” by dint of hard, honest work and without asking anyone for a job. While he was showing me the prototype of his upcoming project, I couldn’t help noticing how clean his fingernails were.

Like my Aunt Dolly of the apartheid era at Mackenzie, when the Canadians lived in exclusive communities in south Mackenzie at Watooka and Richmond Hill where all non-Canadians could not venture, except the maids and cooks and gardeners, Mr Blue Man is now living and working in a Linden wide and free. A Linden which has a young male mayor in the person of Carwyn Holland who became the town’s Chief Citizen in April 2016, as the 10th mayor. He did not seek re-election recently and is passing the baton to a young female in the person of Waneka Arrindell, the Deputy Mayor, who will become the 11th Mayor of Linden town.

I have to admit that as 2018 continues to unfold, I am very excited about the future of the new Mayor, the future of Linden, and certainly, the future of Mr Blue Man, as the tide keeps ebbing and flowing in the Demerara River at Linden Town in Region 10. Remember, “No Man is an Island” – we are all interconnected one way or the other.