Leonardo Blair, Staff Reporter
A Guyanese man fishes from a canal along North Road in Georgetown, Guyana - PHOTO BY LEONARDO BLAIR
DEVELOPMENT SEEMS lost on Georgetown, Guyana, in the aftermath of its worst natural disaster in recent history. For the unwitting traveller, at first glance, the decrepit flood-soaked town may feel like a blast from the past century.
Weather-beaten Dutch-designed buildings, narrow people-packed streets and a heavy, swampy air that sits on you like a blanket. There are mini-canals everywhere, pushing brackish, murky water along a slow current. These canals spared Georgetown from the settling waters of last January's floods.
COMMERCIAL FIESTA
Stabroek, Georgetown, is fiery with life. The heat is stifling. The vendors are out in a commercial fiesta, reflecting a scene from Heywood Street, downtown Kingston. One vendor is doing brisk business with illegal copies of music from several popular dancehall artistes, such as Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Vybz Kartel. Reggae is big there Jamaica is big. Mix this with the lilting sounds of Indian flutes and crooners lamenting mother Africa climbing through the air. Georgetown feels like an old damp rag put out to dry.
The night before, when I first arrived at the Cheddi Jagan Airport, the taxi driver had warned: "Do not go out to the east coast. It bad, it bad. They got the sick out there.
"Where you from? Jamaica? I can see you is young. I seen a big fella been out here. Say he is a reporter and he go out to the east coast and now he got the sick. I know you want to see, but if you go out there. Do not stay long. The sick is bad."
The news reports tell all that is happening on the east coast of the South American country. Scores of people are dying from the 'sick' (leptospirosis a potentially serious illness spread by rodents through their urine). Many others are suffering from diarrhoea drink only bottled water, and be careful of the
vegetables in the market.
INVESTIGATIONS
The government there is currently investigating 34 deaths from drowning, leptospirosis
and dehydration. They are also
assisting with relief efforts in the affected areas by distributing
medicine and other necessaries.
"None of my relatives got the sick," said Monica Daniels, who lives in Kitty, a village just outside of Georgetown. "The water just came in a little bit," she said, before dashing off to catch a
bus home to Kitty. The traffic
situation there can be described as 'cut and dash'. There is some kind of understood order that guides traffic through the rectangular maze of Georgetown. The traffic lights are useless. Residents there say they do not work, because of an unpredictable power supply.
Shazeena Sewdwal, who lives in Non-Pariel on the east coast, was not as lucky as Monica. It was not just a little water that hit her and her family during the floods. "It was pretty bad about two weeks ago," she said. "Now that the water is going down, it is a bit messy. We had a lot of damage, especially with the poultry. One of my relatives was affected by leptospirosis," said Shazeena, who had to stay away from her job in a medicine shop in Georgetown up to a week after the flood.
"I was lucky," said Shazeena. "My boss paid me for half of the week that I was not there and they do not usually do that when you are absent." Shazeena explained that she now has to sleep under a mosquito net to protect herself from the mosquitoes that have come with the floods. The
mosquito repellents are going quickly.
FIRST IN 100 YEARS
You can see the flood is a big thing here. It is not just a wet and dry situation. The country was being plagued by unseasonable rains, said a government report. In one night alone, rain exceeded 10 inches. The total rainfall for last month alone, when the floods hit, was more than 60 inches. Never seen by Guyana since 1888. More than 100 years ago.
Since the floods, many have praised President Bharrat Jagdeo. Government allocated millions of dollars to assist flood-ravaged citizens. "He is trying to do as much as he can," says Trevor Singh, who was spending his day by the famous Sea Wall that protects Georgetown from huge waves. "He is a good man (Jagdeo). This recent flood would tell you," said Raymond Sankar, a bartender.
SCHOOL SHELTERS
"Leptospirosis affects a lot of people out there in the east coast. You have some areas that are still under water," he said. Out in the east coast there are reports of some schools still being used as shelters and children being kept out of school. Up to last week, arrangements were being made to have the children relocated to other schools. Many affected
persons are also staying with
relatives.
In an interview with President Jagdeo at his official residence, he said the country is getting assistance. Albeit, the water pumps donated by Trinidad and Tobago came after they had pumped away the water from the affected areas. "We doing good with the help," explained Mr. Sankar. Huge trucks were seen dumping sludge by the sea.
There are little children outside the modest hotel on North Road at night. Pass them by close to midnight and they will not fail to ask for money or food. The churches are still full. Beggars will laugh at you if you try to offer them less than $100 Guyana dollars. That is about $30 Jamaican dollars.
