At first glance, the sprawling mansions along Valley Line, Barrackpore give the impression that there is little poverty in the former sugar belt. But on closer scrutiny one can see dozens of weathered businesses all boarded up.Alcoholics occupy the roadside muttering to themselves, their empty eyes gazing forlornly at old tasker trailers, rotted field equipment and hundreds of acres of abandoned sugar cane land.Once in the not so distant past, these fields were filled with laughter at crop time. It was a season when cane-cutters found solutions to their domestic problems as they hacked the sugar stalks which sustained the economy.Back then, an estimated 200,000 people scattered in 40 odd villages depended on the industry for their survival. Many grew up 'in sugar' and had little or no academic qualifications and no skill, other than cutting cane.Even in light of this, when Caroni 1975 Ltd closed its doors in 2003, no one predicted the dire consequences the closure would wreak on thousands of lives within the sugarbelt.
Now, eight years down the road, once stable families have broken up. Many of the sugarcane workers and cane cutters have died from heart disease, hypertension, kidney failure, diabetes and other stress-related illnesses, while some women have even admitted to selling their bodies to feed their children.In this feature senior journalist RADHICA SOOKRAJ looks at the difficulties people face in the community of Barrackpore, after the sugarcane industry was discontinued.
Waiting for crop
Leslie Johnson spent 60 years working in the cane fields. As a young boy he often trekked into the burnt sugar hills to help his father cut cane. And now that he is in his 80s, Johnson still cannot come to terms with the closure of the industry.Each day he walks to the deserted cane scale yard with his cutlass, looking to see if the "crop open."Looking up at the hills, Johnson muttered to his neighbour Israel Mohammed: "'Boy, I have 100,000 tonne ah cane to cut. You go help me? The crop opening next week.'"Mohammed said Johnson's delusion often brings tears to his eyes."So much people full of hope because they want a better life. This man spent all his life in cane and when Caroni closed, he became a pauper. He get sick. He get frustrated. We were all never prepared for this," Mohammed said.
He pointed to the healthy canes which Johnson planted around his house. "He always tells us that he will use these stalks as plants so when the crop open back, he will get a good harvest," Mohammed said.Meanwhile, the former cane farmer said the entire community of Barrackpore went into cardiac arrest after Caroni closed. Mohammed said hundreds of acres of prime agricultural land became abandoned."Sometimes, I would go in the field and just remember the days when we used cut cane. It was a time when we had money. Now it is a struggle to feed our families."Mohammed said he had started planting cassava in the canefields but because they had no ready market, there was a surplus.He explained that instead of encouraging a viable livelihood in Barrackpore, Government was instead planning to build a racing track at Battan Trace.
Meanwhile, Pedro Sookhan, one of the largest cane farmers in the area said between 25 to 30 of his workers went on the breadline after Caroni closed."I was able to survive but the men and their families who depended on me to give them work, really suffered."Dipchand Sookhan, who also planted cane, said before Caroni closed his family spent $400,000 on a new crane. "We also had an older crane, and a V-10 trailer. All of that rotting now. It hurts to see all that good equipment going to waste," Dipchand said.
BROKEN FAMILIES
Farzan Khan, 31, believes that his mother Nargis Ramlakhan would still be alive today if Caroni had not been closed. Ramlakhan died at the age of 53 from hypertension. She was one of many who did. Khan said five years after Caroni closed, his parents' marriage broke up. His father Ishmael could no longerprovide for the family and he sought to marry off his youngest daughter Shereen.Khan said his mother could not cope with a loss of income and regular squabbles about money eventually tore their family apart. Khan said when things got worse, Ramlakhan went out to earn money on her own, by working in a food stall.However, Ishmael could not deal with this and became suspicious of her.
"The marriage could not last. Our family broke up and my mother take on worries and she died at the age of 53. My father is still alive but he still suffers," Khan said.President General of the Cane Producers' Association Seukaran Tambie said the story of the Khan family was common in the Valley Line area as many other families broke up. He said traditionally the women in Barrackpopre stayed at home, but after Caroni closed, they were forced to work. This led to a rise in domestic violence, alcoholism and poverty.Naparima MP Nizam Baksh, in an earlier interview, confirmed that poverty levels grew after Caroni closed along with an increased demand for social service grants. In a report supplied by Kairi Consultants dated November 2, 2005, it was stated that "patterns of poverty are undergoing change in some of the sugar growing communities."The consultants found that there were substantial increases in social assistance applications as well as evidence of nutritional problems among children.
SEX FOR FOOD
But although many women of Barrackpore sought legitimate employment, a few women who requested anonymity said during difficult times they had no choice but to engage in prostitution.Karen G (not her real name) said six years after Caroni closed, she was forced to go to bed with a Princes Town businessman every weekend to feed her four children. Her husband became a drunk and could not cope with the loss of income. He opted instead to spend all of his VSEP money on rum."When Caroni closed down, my husband started to drink. Before he used to drink White Oak but now he cannot afford that, so he started to drink Bay Rum. I cannot stand to be next to him. Sometimes I have to grab my children and run because he wants to beat us. I have nowhere to go. I have to stay in the house with him, but I don't let him touch me. At least with (name called) I does get some money every weekend to mind the children. I cannot live with him because he already had his own family," she said.
Another woman, aged 35 said she had no choice but to have sex with a Cepep contractor to get work. "This is the only way I would get money. I had to get a PNM party card before to get work. I feel bad for my husband because he didn't know what I was doing. These days he don't have time to bother with we. He too busy drinking," she added.Tambie explained that many of the former Caroni workers used their VSEP to purchase cars to work PH. Others made bad financial investments at the Hindu Credit Union and the Sweetener Loan, which went bankrupt.He explained that Government had failed to provide proper financial training and advice to the workers who squandered their VSEP. Tambie also complained that cane farmers never got a cent of compensation from Government. The European Union grant given to the Government has never filtered to the benefit of the former cane farmers and sugar workers.
BUSINESSESGO BANKRUPT
Rum shops seem to be a part of the community of Barrackpore. But within recent times, several bar owners complained that business was slow even though alcoholism was high. One businesswoman of Number 2 Scale said: "People cannot afford to buy rum, so many people have started to drink babash and Bay Rum."She explained that during the days of sugar it was common for people to buy soft drinks and snacks. "Now, people cannot even afford that. It is really bad. Many are getting social welfare grants but how long will Government sustain this?" she asked.A supermarket owner said two years ago, one of his employees was caught stealing baby milk. "When I confronted him he said his baby was hungry and he did not know what to do. I gave him his salary in advance and I also let him keep his job. He still working for me," the businessman said.
Former Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Dr Allen Sammy who pioneered studies of poverty in the sugarbelt said business suffered immensely after Caroni closed. Public Relations Officer of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Mikey Mahabir said it was customary for business owners to offer 'balance parcels' as a business strategy.President of the Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers' Association Raffique Shah in an earlier interview also said that the retail sector in many parts of south and north were affected.
