– But it still entails hard work

By Michel Outridge

FOR Shanaz Mohamed, it is easier to live away from family because it is very peaceful and quiet without any interference of the busy life as in other villages.

She is a resident of Bendroff Village, East Bank Essequibo and is the mother of an energetic and friendly two-year-old boy named Stephen.

She resides some distance away from the Harrys, the only house on that side of the dam.

Mohamed is married to a multi-talented farmer and they cultivate their land and sell the produce in and around the neighbouring villages or wholesale it to customers.

The 22-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she likes the place, but they need a better road and the basic facilities such as potable water and electricity.

They have a generator and it is used in the nights, while a solar panel powers the lights bulbs.

“Life here is okay, but we don’t have a lot to boast about; but at least we are happy because there is nobody to bother you here and we work with our self,” she said.

She has been residing at Bendroff Village for the past four years when she got married to a local and they constructed a house.

Mohamed stated that she utilises the data plan on her cellphone to get up to date with what’s happening, but at times the service is not very good.

She was tending to her son while her husband, a farmer, carpenter and diver was away vending citrus from their farm.

“My husband can do more than one job, so whatever is available he does,” he said.

Mohamed is a stay-at-home mom, who hardly goes out unless necessary.

The security guard who paddles miles for work

Farther up the dam Eric Williams and his family reside in a small wooden cottage, in front of a farm owned by another villager.

He is originally from a remote village in Aruka River, Region One, but relocated to Bendroff since 2017 when he left in search of a better life.

Williams told the Pepperpot Magazine that they were brought from their village to work on a farm and they were treated unfairly for a long time before they managed to get their own place.

“People promise you the world and they bring you to work and then you end up working like a slave without pay and it is a very distressing situation many face,” he said.

He is a security guard at nights attached to the Morashee Primary School, miles away, and he uses a boat and a paddle to get to work, which takes 45 minutes or more, depending on the weather.

Williams reported that during the day he would work on his farm and they would either sell or use their produce.

He related that in Morashee Village there are about nine houses and the Primary School and it is almost a ghost village because many people have left.

The father of three added that right now the canal is being excavated, so the water is very low and he was unsure how he woukd get to work that night.

“I work with Sentinel Security Service and since December 1, 2017, I never benefit from a day off or any incentives other than my pay. You can’t take a day off because they would tell you to have to go on two weeks leave and is like you get knock-off, because they would replace you and I can’t afford to lose my job,” he said.

Williams also reported that many Amerindians would leave their villages and come out to work thinking they would be paid well, but they would be put to work and paid poorly.

On the brighter side of things, he has a five-acre plot of apple bananas and plantains and the piece of land he is occupying, he was given permission to erect a house and live by the owner, a compassionate man.

“When I had nowhere to go the man helped me and told me I can stay here, but as you can see my house is a work in progress and I wish to build it better,” he said.

Williams is a very hardworking father, who is doing everything he can to provide for his school-age children and wife, who works as a sweeper/cleaner at the Morashee Primary School.