Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Fyzabad, the birthplace of the labour movement, was once a bustling southern town where oil workers, shoppers and farmers moved through its streets and businesses stayed open late to service those benefiting from Trinidad’s oil fortunes.
A few decades later, Fyzabad has become dismal. There are closed shops, abandoned buildings and homes left empty by people who have moved away from the oil-rich community.
In some places, vines have taken over historic buildings that were once part of the daily life of the community.
However, although the physical signs point to decline, the memories of the people who have lived there tell another story.
Speaking to Guardian Media, Samsoondar Seepersad said he remembers the days when Fyzabad was lively.
“Fyzabad used to be more developed. It used to be more bright, more busy. Now the place dead,” he explained.
Seepersad, who has spent his entire life in the area, said the decline became more noticeable in the 1980s after Trintoc left the village. Businesses closed, employment opportunities disappeared and people migrated.
“All of my siblings left, the only one who stayed was me,” he admitted.
He said many residents migrated to Canada, the United States and other countries, leaving behind homes which are either empty or rented.
Avocat, Mondesir and parts of Fyzabad now have numerous unoccupied houses.
Seepersad said over the past decade, crime spiralled.
“People with businesses end up closing down because they realized they were risking their live to make a dollar so they left.”
A town shaped by oil and struggle
Fyzabad’s economic fortunes were once closely linked to the oil industry.
The town, founded in 1871 by Canadian missionaries and originally named after Faizabad in India, was transformed after petroleum was discovered in the early 20th century.
It became part of the southern oil belt and attracted operators including Trinidad Leaseholds Limited.
But the town also became synonymous with the struggle of sugar and oil workers.
University of the West Indies history lecturer Dr Jerome Teelucksingh said workers fought for better wages and working conditions and challenged employers, police and the colonial authorities.
The confrontation at Charlie King Junction during the 1937 Butler Riots helped ignite the labour movement and led eventually to the formation of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union and the establishment of Labour Day, observed every June 19, he added.
Memories preserved in an old shop
For the residents, the memories of that period remain strong.
Seventy-five-year-old Wilfred Mark said the history of Fyzabad can still be found inside his family business.
Mark remains the owner of W Mark and Sons, the shop established by his father, Wycliffe Mark, who died more than a decade ago.
The shelves of the dusty shop contain enamel wares, aluminium pails, poseys, scrubbing boards, lunch kits and lunch flasks, most in their original packaging.
There are bicycles too — reminders of a time when they were a common means of transportation.
Mark said his father was a Butlerite who worked closely with labour leader Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler.
“My father started this store with a barrel of pitch oil (kerosene),” he said.
His father had won a sweepstakes in the 1940s, bought the property and built the house.
He later started a credit union and a sou sou for neighbours.
“He knew that if the Caribbean didn’t pull themselves together, we will be crushed,” Mark said.
“That is where we are now, being crushed by the big boys.”
Mark said the shop has become more than a place of business.
“It is a window into a Fyzabad that has largely disappeared,” he said.
A history that still stands
The changes can also be seen at Butler Hall.
The historic building at the junction has been rented by the OWTU for use as a grocery.
At the front of Butler Hall, Butler’s statue looks towards Charlie King Junction, named after the police officer who died during the 1937 riots.
Above the Hall hangs a banner bearing the name of Fyzabad MP Davendranath Tancoo.
Alicia Joseph remembers when political and labour figures, including George Weekes and Basdeo Panday, visited the town.
“Back then people used to work for five cents an hour and Butler struggled,” she said. Politicians were not allowed on the Labour Day stage.
Joseph said she remembers Fyzabad as a bustling community.
Today, she said, it is heartbreaking to watch some of the old buildings deteriorate.
Pointing to the building which once housed Diptee’s Hardware, Joseph said she hoped they could one day have a community museum.
Taxi driver Baby Ragoonanan said if such community initiatives were launched, the entire area would be revived.
“People will get work. We could have tours and generate our own income,” she added.
Meanwhile, Tyrease Clement, who sells pumpkins and other produce on the roadside, called on the Government to do more for farmers. He said Fyzabad is one of the few places where there is no fast food.
Fyzabad resident Naresh Rambajan agrees that the community could thrive if roads were improved and community tours were arranged.
“The only good thing that has happened to Fyzabad in recent times is the variety store Dennies. People come from all over to shop here because the prices are good,” Rambajan said.
