Burnham’s gardener and maid

Nov 18, 2012 News

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–    Pauline Mahadeo’s story
By Romila Boodram
She was 38-years-old, a single mother with five children and no job. Pauline Mahadeo was at her wits end – food had to go on the table, and there were bills to be paid. Fortunately, her husband had left her with a home.
After her husband’s death, it was imperative that she find a job, and fast.
After a long search she heard about an opening at the Botanical Gardens and went to the office of then President Forbes Burnham to apply for the job.
Burnham ruled Guyana from 1966 until his death in 1985. Pauline recalled meeting the foreman and the administrator for an interview and in less than 24 hours she was asked to turn-out to work.

In 1977, she worked at the Botanical Gardens and would sometimes be asked to go over to Burnham’s house to take care of his plants, and she did so with “pride.”
In those days, everyone admired her work and she was eventually transferred to Burnham’s residence, where she worked taking care of his personal garden at what is now Castellani House.
She would leave her Grove, East Bank Demerara home early in the morning and would return in the nights.
In those days, her village was populated by people of East Indian origin who were very critical of Burnham and his party, the People’s National Congress. So, to avoid trouble with villagers, she told them that she was still working at the Botanical Gardens.
For Pauline, Forbes Burnham was a “good” man who was great to his employees. She said that his nick name was “Fat Man.”
While working with Burnham, she received milk, oil, meat, greens and grocery, which was a “big thing” in those days.
When her husband died, her eldest child was 14, and her youngest was just six years old. She did not give up on her children’s education. She worked day and night to send them to school.
Yesterday, a proud Pauline sat on her veranda and recalled sitting with her children in the 1970s and telling them “the right from the wrong.”
“I tell them that I will send them to school and whatever I cook they will have to eat. I tell them if I cook cabbage five days a week, then they have to eat it because I am giving them education.”
With five children to take care of, she worked continuously and tried her best to grab as much overtime as she could. At this time, she was now a handy person, who assisted in the President’s office.
Whenever she was at home, she would attend the Diamond Temple with her five children. It was there that she met a friend who was badly in need of a job.
“She bin deh more bad than me so I tell her that I cannot afford to give her anything but I will help her find a job and she said that yes so I ask the manager and they call her in and give her a job.”
“She work and after she see the job that I was doing she start mek bad for me because she de want my job. Within a few weeks, she mek I get transferred to State House and I cried a lot because I know I use to get milk and so when I use to work at the office and if I get transferred to State House I wouldn’t get anything.”
Pauline moved to State House and was appointed as a maid. She got that position because one of the maids was about to migrate.
“I use to work at State House and then I used to work over-time at Parliament building and other Government places.”
She recalled what happened while cleaning Burnham’s room one day.
“…Oh my God, his room was like heaven. One day the other maid pushed me on his bed and it was the most amazing feeling ever.”
Pauline remembered hearing that her friend who caused her to get transferred to State House was “fired.”
“When I hear that I try to find out what she did and is then when I heard that Burnham does use to send out people to check on his employees background and I heard that my friend had a terrible background that is why they fired her.”
She said that her manager made her “ring” her ears not to bring anyone here again.
Although, Pauline cannot remember the specifics, she said that the day when Burnham died, he bade his employees good-bye and told them that he was leaving to go do his surgery.
“He tell everybody goodbye and he left and couple minutes later, when I was working, another worker come and tell me ‘Fat Man’ dead but I didn’t believe them (at first),” Pauline recalled.
“When he died, they send home all the workers and the funeral day we had to wear black and white and the morning when I was walking out the street with my clothes, the neighbours them see and they curse me down and stop talk with me but I didn’t care because nobody don’t put rice in my pot.”
She said that when Desmond Hoyte became President, she continued working and was able to send off her children in marriage.
Pauline retired after she was injured when a tree fell on a benab under which she was working.
“After the tree fell, Hoyte order all the trees to be cut down.”
Pauline is now 78 years old, and suffers from diabetes. Her oldest son is in the United States and he has been taking care of her.

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