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Sophia residents who helped the PNC perpetuate violence are now victims
Dear Editor,
My first reaction to the violent expulsion of The Sophia Squatters was “it serves them right” or the usual “it good for them,” but my humanity precluded me from making such a comment even though the squatters were clearly in the wrong. But I would return to that statement later.
This writer likes to begin at the beginning and that is the place I will go. My starting point is how these people that make up one of the largest, if not the largest, suburb of Georgetown made it what it is today? How did they get there? The answer; by The PPP/C Party, they were the ones who transformed this squatter settlement, ghetto, slum – whatever you want to call it – into a beautiful suburban settlement area. This was not done by The PNC who is now hypocritically trying to make it their pet project. The makings of Sophia began under The PPP/C during the 1992 Period, so let’s get it right.
A few cosmetic changes were done by the PNC/APNU, here and there with services such as asphalt surfaced roads and drinking water, otherwise, The PNC did nothing for Sophia. In fact The PNC under Hoyte shamefully humiliated them and drove them off the land like cattle because he wanted that area for one of his wealthy business friends, who in turn would have done the most minimal of changes and resold it at an exorbitant price. That in essence would have meant that the “Poor People Squatters” could not have ventured on there, no never! It took the caring, humane government of The PPP/C to literally give away those lands to the squatters.
After all of that was done for the poor hapless people, ironically, it was the same Hoyte who was the first to visit the area demanding that Mrs Jagan provide them with all the infrastructural works immediately or face the consequences of a destabilizing ‘slo fiah moh fiah.” What should be of note here is, although the PPP/C did its best in regularizing this area into a lovely suburb, their best was not good enough for an ungrateful, maliciously hostile, PNC stronghold, Sophia. This place became one of the prime recruiting spots for PNC urban bully tactics.
The hostile PNC Opposition got the desired result and ”slo fiah moh fiah” caused the same hand that fed them – President Janet Jagan – to demit office prematurely. During that time-frame and even on subsequent upheavals, Sophia retained the status of being a useful tool in the hands of the PNC to commit political violence. Sophia was and still is a breeding ground for political criminals.
So back to the statement I made in my opening paragraph that those homes that were targeted for demolition were indeed illegal structures. By mere definition they are squatters, persons who are occupying government reserves and dams where drainage and irrigation is a perennial problem when the city’s desilting works get underway. Not forgetting the dumping of sewage and other wastes in the drainage channels poses a health risk. These and other associated ills are the lot of the Sophia Squatters.
I must hasten to a close, by stating that the present debacle where the squatters were at the receiving end of a brutal dismantling of their shacks is as a result of the Central Housing and Planning Authority’s rush to fulfill the requirements of an IDB Loan. One of the stipulations is that these squalid squatter settlements “must be” regularized or else The Government would not be able to attract the graces of the funding agency. Sophia is earmarked as one of these areas to receive an upgrade. In this regard all precautions are being adhered to. Demolish!
I am not of the view that the squatters must not be made to move, far from it. If you objectively take a look at their story you would have seen that most of them were given notices even during the time of the previous government, but they refused to move. In fact, it was the very same PNC who gave them the leeway to go on the land and squat, a strategy used then to get votes. They are now in government so they have taken up the position of cleaning up their illegal act and make good on the IDB loan. This is the naked truth, but my God, be human about it.
The truth of the matter is these people are receiving their just deserts from their party in government that has used them to the max, and now it is time to get rid of them. Sad indeed! In closing, I see another showdown looming, and that is the squatters that occupy the lands close to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, Expansion Project. Let’s wait and see the results.
Everton Adams
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