Praying that they will not end up on the streets, a Penal man, his wife and their two children are now facing eviction after being told by a relative that they had to move.
Ann-Marie Bhagwandeen, 19, her husband Sheldon Bhagwandeen, 34, and their two children, aged two and four, have been given until Wednesday to leave their Seemungal Trace, Penal Rock Road home.
During an exclusive interview with Guardian Media, Bhagwandeen said he built the house 11 years ago but was living on the land with his parents and siblings since 1999.
“At the time when we moved here I was already 14 and I helped my father clear the land where we built a house,” he recalled.
Bhagwandeen said when he got married to his first wife in 2008, he obtained permission from the landowner, a relative, to build an annexe to his mother’s house so that he could have his own space to start a family. He said this permission was never put in writing.
After his first marriage was dissolved and he started a new family, Bhagwandeen said he continued living in the house.
However, two years ago, the landowner and another person told him that the space where his house is located had to accommodate a road, so he was advised to shift his house to another spot on the same parcel of land. He said last year he spent $2,700 to backfill a spot but in March the landowner turned up and told him he had to leave.
“I was shocked. I said (name called) where you want me to go with these children? You want me to end up on the streets?”
He added that other relatives also demanded that they leave.
“Since then they making us uncomfortable. They cutting up the children few pieces of clothes from the clothes line. It is not a happy life here,” he said.
Asked whether he was working, Bhagwandeen said no. He said the family has been surviving on a $1,900 public assistance grant as he was physically unfit for work.
“I stopped school in standard one. I cannot read too well so I did not get the chances that other people got. I want a safe and comfortable place to put my family. If they want me to move I will, but right now I have nowhere to work,” he said.
His wife said she too was fed up. She said her children were being exposed to a negative environment and this was not good for their self-development.
“I don’t want them to hear people cussing us and driving us to leave here. We just want some peace of mind,” she said.
Ann-Marie said she was physically able to work but has not been doing so because her baby was just two years old. She said she wanted her husband to be compensated for the money he spent on the house and backfill the land.
“We will leave whatever he built here. That is okay but to put us out on Wednesday will be inhumane. Where will the children sleep?” she asked.
Ann-Marie said they also needed some legal advice. Asking for a three-month stay on the eviction notice which came from an attorney in Siparia, Annmarie said, “We know that the land doesn’t belong to us. We not looking to fight for anything but we have spent money to build the house and backfill. Shouldn’t we be compensated for that?”
She added that on Easter Saturday they went to the attorney who sent the notice and he felt sympathy towards them.
“He told us to start looking for a place and he will speak to the landowner for us,” she said.
Contacted yesterday, one of Bhagwandeen’s relatives said he had to move because the area where his house is located is to be used to accommodate a road. He did not answer any other questions and when the T&T Guardian called him several times later on he did not respond. Anyone wanting to contact the family can call 398-5726 or 328- 6552.