Historical review of the mining town – Part Five

Apr 01, 2013 News

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By Enid Joaquin
At a recent media conference in Linden, IMC Chairman Orrin Gordon in his presentation on the State of the Linden Community, said that one year after President Donald Ramotar had promised to have a board established for LEN’s management, nothing has been done.
In the meanwhile Linden remains in limbo!

Changes and Promises
Linden has been a community of changes over the years- changing names, changing managements, changing economy and changing landscape.
While not all of the changes have been good, there are some changes that people have come to embrace, like the Blue lakes, which were mining pits that filled with water.
Dotting the landscape across the mining Town, these lakes have gained popularity over the years, to the extent that a few persons have touted their development as tourist resorts.

While on the other hand, certain stakeholders are demanding that there be land reclamation, and that the bauxite company refill the pits after mining, so that these areas could be later developed for housing, farming etc.
Promises are next in line, as these have been so prolific and their execution so few and sometimes nonexistent, that Lindeners have become almost cynical, when it comes to promises of anything that would benefit the community.

But there are three ‘promises’ that Lindeners  cannot wait to see materialize – the resuscitation of the old Alumina Plant, the opening up of the transshipment facility at Christianburg, and the establishment of the community’s private television station.

Transshipment Facility
Already in the fourth year of the projected five years to complete works on this facility, works are yet to commence on the wharf itself.
Works on this Container Wharf facility and Transshipment terminal would commence after a fact finding mission to Boa Vista by LEAP and GNIC officials in 2007, to determine the feasibility of shipping cargo from Brazil through Guyana.
The project idea was based on the completion of the Takatu Bridge, and the expected increase in traffic along the Linden/Lethem corridor.
LEAP would later plug some $63M for the initial works like land clearing, fencing, construction of a general office and a security block.
GNIC was meanwhile expected to invest some US$3.4M to purchase equipment, and for cadastral and topographical surveys for the construction of the wharf itself. Upon completion the facility is expected to employ some fifty persons.

But apart from the cargo from Brazil that is expected to utilize the facility, there would be some amount of domestic shipping involved.
It was projected by major stakeholders within the community that persons in the logging industry would utilize the facility to barge their logs to Georgetown and further afield.
This mode of shipping logs was the primary means of transporting them in the earlier days, when logging was the dominant economic venture.
However with the opening up of the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, this activity was somewhat curtailed, until it became virtually nonexistent.
Only a few loggers currently use the waterway to ship their logs, while the majority uses the Highway.
But of recent years there have been many calls for the discontinuation of this method of transporting lumber, as many of the accidents on the Linden/Soesdyke highway have been attributable to logging trucks.
Only last week, the latest victim of such an accident, Leon ’Junior’ Barrett was interred at the Christianburg cemetery.
Ironically, Barrett was one of the most vociferous persons condemning the truck owners for traversing the highway, especially at nights and endangering the lives of commuters. His funeral attracted a mammoth crowd of persons of all walks of life, including leader of the Opposition David Granger.

Alumina Plant resuscitation
However, despite all that happens or fails to happen, in this mining Town, it is the old Alumina Plant resuscitation that most Lindeners cannot wait to see materialize.
The Alumina Plant has long been an integral part of Linden’s history, both in its working and dormant state. During the days that it produced Alumina, hundreds were employed there.
Today it sits as a majestic landmark and reminder of the days when Linden prospered.
But this colossal structure had engendered the removal of several residents living in the Spieghtland/Kara Kara area, most of whom had relocated to areas such as Rainbow city, and other communities in close proximity.
It is therefore then natural that residents who currently occupy the area on the Plant’s periphery, to view its resuscitation with some amount of trepidation.
For one thing, they are afraid that they too, might be forced to relocate. For many such an option, would be hard- given the time and money spent on establishing their properties.
But then again some would be happy for the employment opportunities that the resuscitation would bring.

July 18 tragedy
Lindeners had warned that if Government’s proposed electricity increases for the community was not withdrawn, they would protest by shutting the Town down for five days.
This is exactly what happened, after no withdrawal was forthcoming. But no one had envisaged that at the end of the very first day of protest, on July eighteenth, three men would be shot dead.
Several persons were also shot and injured.
This turn of events would further exacerbate the situation, with the result that the unrest would stretch into a month. Lindeners of course felt that the protest action was justified, as the proposed electricity increase was ‘unconscionable’ and ‘punishment’ for a community of rampant unemployment, and not much to show in terms of economic development.
Following the July eighteenth shootings, and subsequent burning of several buildings, the joint services would be deployed to the Town where they set up camps at strategic locations.
The controversial water cannon was also sent to disperse crowds and get people off the streets, but it never served its purpose.
And the soldiers, with the aid of a bulldozer, began the arduous task of clearing debris from blocked streets. But they certainly had their work cut out, for no sooner had they cleared the roads, the people blocked them again.
Getting into, out of and through Linden became a challenge, with the situation necessitating the introduction of a shuttle system, for those from interior locations who were forced to pass through the Town.
Lindeners also had to endure a similar situation to get to Georgetown. In all instances this proved more costly to hapless commuters.

During this period several buildings would be burnt, including the One Mile Primary, the building which housed the Linden Salvation Council, and another, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter day Saints on the Winifred Gaskin Highway, and the Region 10 Agriculture Office on Burnham Drive, Wismar.
On the Mackenzie shore, all except one of the old Linmine offices were burnt and the Guyana Revenue Authority was reduced to a shell. The burnt Linmine offices housed the Linmine Secretariat and the Linden Care foundation, among others.
There would follow the blame game, with the police blaming the people and the people blaming the police for the conflagrations. To date no one has been held culpable.
The Linden protests were called off after several meetings between Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon and Government officials, which ended with Government deciding to withhold the tariff increases, and return the satellite dish, among other things.

Constant
The one thing that has remained constant in Linden over the years are the sirens which blow at five thirty, ten to seven, seven and then four thirty in the afternoons.
The siren blasts remind workers of the times to get ready for work, break for lunch and then depart at the end of the working day.
There are also relics of the past that serve as constant reminders of what had been,
such as the bauxite ore cars languishing in the old railroad yard, which were used in the not too distant past to haul bauxite to the plant at Mackenzie.

Today they repose dormant- silent as the grave; no more monotonous cadence as they clatter along the railway, hauling their heavy burden of ore.
Nearby stands the last vestiges of an era lost, the lone building that escaped the inferno that consumed its sisters almost a year ago, standing behind the blackened concrete shell of what once was the GRA office.
It’s a sad reflection of the Casuarina Drive of old, where the old Linmine offices dominated the landscape- their myriad lights bidding a silent welcome to travel weary commuters at nights, whether coming home or passing through the Town.
People had stood and watched awestruck as fire swept through the buildings, which had huddled close together.
Today the area resembles a deserted war zone, with only the blackened and rusting refuse telling the tale of what once was………..
But Lindeners are a resilient and innovative people who are prepared to struggle and fight to recreate a Town that they can be justly proud of.

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