By Michel Outridge

DHARMENDRA Beemnauth is a resident of Pearl Village, East Bank Demerara, and has lived his entire life in that community as a local.

“My parents are from here, so I born and grow up here and it is 54 years now this place is my home; and life here is very quiet,” he said.

He is a forklift operator attached to John Fernandes Limited (JFL), but was not at work that day.

Beemnauth is the father of four and resides in a cul de sac in Second Street, Pearl Village, where there are big trees at the end of the street used as a shade with wooden benches for an afternoon ‘sit-down’.

“My wife passed away five years ago, so my daughter does the cooking and chores, so life is fair. As you can see, we are just here sitting enjoying each other’s company and conversation,” he said.

He was among a group of locals who were at the village shop having some liquid refreshments and a good “gyaff.”

“As a child, we used to go by Mrs Edith Lynch, the oldest resident and watch film shows; back then, they had television, so we are close in this village because we live nice and cooperate,” he said.

Pearl is home
The Pepperpot Magazine also met former Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin, who is also a resident of Pearl Village.

Pearl has been his home for the past 25 years because he wanted to get out of the city to a quiet place.

That opportunity presented itself when he learnt that a plot of land was for sale in the village 25 years ago, and he bought it and constructed a house which is of an interesting and unique design.

Gaskin said the lands in Pearl were developed in the early 1970s and were supposed to be for government officials, because it had water, electricity, roads and infrastructure.

“When I came here to live there were just a few houses, but later many people moved in after buying the lands and made it their home and it is a residential, quiet place to live, where people tend to know each other and there isn’t too much lawlessness, but unity among the people,” he said.

Gaskin related that Pearl has four main streets with some smaller internal streets and dams and has a five-acre backlands area; most of the remaining empty plots are privately owned. He added that the commute is bothersome from Pearl to the city, but they would avoid the rush hour and leave home early and return a bit later after the rush hour to avoid the traffic.

“For me this is home, this place is quiet in nature and away from the busy city and it suits me just fine,” he said.

Gaskin told the Pepperpot Magazine by the time he came to Pearl to reside, many of the elders had already retired and then they had some newcomers to the community, but they know each other and are neighbourly.

“This is a safe place to live. One road in and out and it is small, so people tend to notice you when you come in and you are a stranger, because somebody is always sitting at the shop drinking and you can walk in here at nights and nobody would interfere with you,” he said.

Gaskin stated that the land in Pearl is high, so when it rains they do not experience flooding. The father of four stated that Pearl Village is a long way from the city, but he doesn’t mind.