–as Lindeners try to turn community’s fortunes around

IT’S no secret that the bauxite company is no longer the sole means of employment for Linden.
And with the reduction in bauxite production and room enough for just 600-odd employees, there’s only so much the Bosai Minerals Guyana Group (BMGG) can do for Linden; thus the unemployment rate is still at an all-time high.

The mining town of Linden not only got its fame from the heydays of bauxite mining, but the fact also that many of its male residents possessed the many technical and engineering skills needed to drive the sector.
Many of these skills were honed at the then DEMBA Trade School in the 1960s, and later, with the nationalisation of the Bauxite Company in the 1970s, by the Linden Technical Institute.

Today, even with the downsizing of bauxite and the establishment of several expatriate goldmining companies here, those skills are still very much in demand.
In fact, according to Public Relations officer of the Guyana Gold Fields Inc, Mr Leon Roberts, approximately 60% of the company’s entire workforce is made up of Lindeners, be it at the technical, administrative or managerial levels.
Statistics coming out of Troy Resources also, show that there are approximately 150 Lindeners employed at the company, which is a total of some 30% of its entire workforce. There are also about 30 Lindeners who are employed with contractors on the mine site.

DREAM COME TRUE

One of Troy Resources employees, Paul Mc Gregor, who just landed himself his dream job, and was recently promoted as well, said that being employed at the company is one of the best things that ever happened to him.

“I applied for the job, but with little hopes I would get through. And long after I got called, I couldn’t believe it! Now I have a very good job, because, for a while, I was doing odd jobs in Linden to make it through, though I had my skills,” he said, adding: “It took patience. And I recently got promoted too.”
But not only are Lindeners filling positions at the private companies, as about 15% of the employees at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) are also from the mining town.

And for those young men who cannot get into the companies because of the lack of academic qualifications or vocational skills, there’s still a role to play in the gold mining as **sector by being regular pork knockers in the ‘gold bushes’.
Whether it is being employed by an established dredge owner, being part of a syndicate or managing their own pumps on their own, many residents of Linden are ‘running the gold bush.’ For many, though it may be risky, see it as having no choice, giving the high unemployment rate in the town. For others, it is just a way of staying out of the limelight and keeping out of trouble.

THE ONLY OPTION
Ryan Carter, who became a pork-knocker after leaving school, said that while it was not what he had in mind, it was one of the few legal options available.
“I never saw myself going into the bush,” Ryan said, “but out here ain’t had much options. So I decided to buy a pump and take the gamble; and it didn’t turn out too bad.
“Is just that yuh does got to be away from home for long periods. But for me, being away is like being out of trouble.”

But gold mining is nothing new for Lindeners, as while to some it may seem that this is the new trend in the township, history has it that upon the establishment of Omai Gold Mines, many Lindeners scored employment at the company.
In fact, according to one former employee, a large percentage of the entire workforce was from Linden. This was so, he said, because Lindeners possessed the skills needed for mining gold.

“Yes! I can recall actually everyone was from Linden! A lot; especially in my department!
“I was a welder, and most of my ‘squaddies’ were Lindeners,” Lester Clarke, who’s now a pensioner, recalled.
When asked why he felt that Lindeners have what it takes to do just about anything they set their minds to, Clarke had a mouthful to say, and he did so quite confidently:
“Because nowhere else you can go in this country and find skilled people like Linden people.

“Linden people are the most skilful people; when it comes to technical skills and engineering skills, they fit in easily.
“You have to remember that everyone looked to the bauxite company for work, so from young, you grow up with this aim of working at the bauxite company.
“When many people finish school, they tried to acquire the skills back then to get into the company. So when the company start collapsing, everyone still had the skills, and they could have fit into any other kind of mining.”

Suffice it to say that OMAI played a major role in the development of Linden, and when the company closed operations, things somewhat took a downturn for Linden.
Many persons lost their jobs and had to seek other avenues for employment. “Many persons decided to buy cars, and started to do taxi work,” Mr Clarke said.
“Many persons opened welding shops; many persons open businesses. Some man migrate, different things,” he added.

And when Bosai started operations in 2007, many of these same people were rescued and regained meaningful employment prior to the establishment of the present gold mining companies.
Not only are these companies contributing significantly to the economy of Linden, but this has positive rippling effects in many ways to the livelihood of Lindeners.