Where some residents call home

NISMES Old Road, Riverside, has a privately owned shipyard and on the sea dam, a few residents have made it their home.

One such villager is Indranie Sookdeo, a mom of five who is married to the current koker operator and has a wooden house on the sea dam; the house rests flat on the ground and she would like it to be placed on stilts as it used to be.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that her eldest son is 25 years old and she has been living at the location since he was born; she is originally from Goed Fortuin, another West Bank Demerara village.

Sookdeo explained that her modest house was previously on posts, but when sea defence works were done by a contracting service, they removed the edifice and placed it not far away.

She reported that when the works were completed, they placed the house back at its original spot but failed to install the posts the way they were before and she is hoping that can be fixed.

The resident stated that her husband is from Bella Dam, also on the West Bank of Demerara, but they moved away from their families many years ago because they wanted to live separately.

She added that so far, life there has been fair and they manage with the little they have; her sons have constructed two small houses there too and are working to upkeep themselves.

Sookdeo stated that with her husband’s income as the koker operator, she ‘makes do,’ since she still has school-aged children to take care of.

This family also rears chickens and goats and even has a small kitchen garden of vegetables.

“Life is not perfect, but it is peaceful and nobody does trouble you here and that suits me just fine,” she said.

As for the tide from the Demerara River which is a few feet away from her house, Sookdeo explained that she is not afraid; the water does not reach up to the dam and she is accustomed to the sounds of the waves.

“We by we self here and things normal, because people should be allowed to live their lives however they see fit and we are humble people trying to make an honest living for our family,” she said.

Sookdeo and her family are the only residents of the sea dam at Nismes Riverside, which is much closer to the village of Toevlugt.