Linden’s administrators really don’t care about its existence

Apr 19, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The Kaieteur News of April 3rd under bold head line “Scrap metal dealers’ plundered’ Linden of several famous artifacts”, carried a disturbing story by Enid Joaquin which derailed the mental balance of every conscious Lindener who read it. We read “Tons upon tons of scrap metal were “harvested” from Linden over the past two decades from derelict machines that lay dormant in the graveyards of mined out sites. The famous Bucket Wheeler Excavator, the 13,000 volts Walking Dragline, and various other machinery could not escape tentacles of the voracious scrap metal dealers whose insatiable appetite they fed” This immediately brought to mind some of the very fears some former workers were having when this scrap iron business started.
Many expressed concern as former IMC chairman Orrin Gordon mentioned unscrupulous persons took advantage of the situation I was jolted reading that article; never, not even remotely did I ever entertain the scrapping and selling off of that history making 13,000 volts walking dragline, and those miles railway stretching from the Bauxite Plant at Mackenzie to the various mines- that history would have been so snubbed.
What was even more ridiculous was to learn from Mr Gordon that no mechanism was put in place and as such there was no way of monitoring the scrap metal trade. Says Gordon: “What happened here is a real travesty, because certain items that tied into the history of the town should not have been touched but there was no supervision of what took place with regards to harvesting of the scrap metal”
Imagine that no safe guard for important historical artifacts. As you read on you become more and more riled up. This was blind plundering without rhyme or reason. The dragline and bucket wheeler were two massive and impressive pieces of machinery that were captivating, not seen anywhere else across this country, not even in the Caribbean. I think just who were placed in charge of this operation to allow the scrapping of these prized artifacts were they devoid of values? We learned from the article that the wheeler was in working condition when it was scrapped and sold. Think of having these two artifacts on display, painted, decorated, lighted up at nights, indeed a tourist attraction spectacular beyond.
The railways could have been used with carriages for making trips to and fro. Over 90% of the folks in Linden have never seen these two impressive pieces of mining equipment. Our tourism sector has definitely lost out big time. As said above; the business was a free for all, no rules no boundary, so much so that the lone column standing-a land mark and a relic representing the very first bridge across the Demerara River. Hope Bridge was ripped out in the mad hustle, with no regards for anything; the people nor their history, sort of naked profanity.
And as I was made to understand so many times, many heavy duty machinery that went as scrap and sold for a smile were in fairly good working condition; front end loader, low bed, crane, D9 bull dozer and such like. Machines with their box sealed and preserved, only to return as hired to do contracts for the town. Why none of them were given as token to the M&TC or the Region to assist with work in the town.
Lindeners are not strangers to the over loaded trucks, trailers and other types of vehicles that have been transporting scrap metal night and day for over two decades out of the town. Surely we couldn’t maintain them, but they could have been managed in a more responsible manner whereby the Town\Region could have benefited in a delightful way. After all those tonnage of scrap metal that once characterized the various mines and form part of the Town’s landscape were as a result of the toil, sweat, sinews and blood as expended over many rough and challenging years by former workers who worked like Trojans with the industry.
One is at lost to figure out how miles upon miles, tons of incalculable railway from Wismar and Mackenzie could disappear without a trace! I have to assume that maybe hundreds of millions were accumulated from the sales, hence I need ask what is there to show? And isn’t it a bit of a shame that to this day there is not even a pin standing in honour of Bauxite workers! If this industry should disappear tomorrow there will be nothing standing as a tribute\testimony that there were a people who once lived here that mined bauxite except for the many hills, craters, overburden, lakes and ponds that came about by the process.
Incidentally it was the Chinese, the new expatriates in control of the Bauxite Industry “BOASI” whom the task was left to in erecting a monument to mark the centenary of Bauxite mining on this shore. This brings us to the question; just were the quality of leaders we were saddled with? And now, are we any better? Have we gone past that stage? I don’t think so, as some would say we are half a dozen of one and six of the other.
I make bold to say that some of our top functionaries who we loosely label as leaders are in many instances not up to scratch in terms of earnestly looking out for and serving this Town\Region as their counterparts were some decades ago. Observing their conduct within the scheme of things, one hardly gets the impression that this Town\Region is uppermost in their mind, but rather more self serving, sometimes you just have to wonder about their agenda. You walk around and see things that just don’t belong, but somehow they don’t see, as if they don’t live here, their minds are clogged with strange things.
They are fascinated with the appellation attached to them, the, “policy paper to be looked at”, “feasibility study to be done”,” documents, and documentations”, and other nice sounding terminologies and phrases. Then, when the ministers visit the place, it is like a turkey parade; they follow around with wings spread. Then when the show is over we are back to where we belong.
Frank Fyffe

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