Two decades later, Lorraine Scotland has the same Mother’s Day wish

May 13, 2018 News

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By Sharmain Grainger

Women are a strong, nurturing and very resilient breed of the human race. They are the ones who often have the amazing capability to devise a path where there literally is none, if the wellbeing of a loved one is hanging in the balance. In fact even in the face of the most intimidating of challenges, many women are able to find a way to succeed.

Among those who understand the role of a woman all too well is Ms. Lorraine Scotland.

You see, from as long as she can remember, she has been fighting to stay above a plethora of challenges life has thrown her way. Although the challenges, from where she stands, seem to be ever present, Scotland is one who has never shied away from a good fight.  Her anatomy essentially envelops a being who only knows how to aim for victory and even today, when the odds seem very much against her, she is not backing down.

Scotland, a 58-year-old mother of three girls, all of whom are now adults with families of their own, from a tender age developed a trait that saw her putting the wellbeing of others ahead of hers, much like many mothers we know. As a single parent raising her children, she always did what was necessary to ensure that her children were always well fed and brought up in a decent way.

But even as she takes some time to relax and appreciate life today, a day designated to honour mothers throughout the world, Scotland’s heart is very heavy.

All her life she has been a woman who worked tirelessly and never believed in favours and underhand activities to get ahead.  As such, Scotland is saddened that her efforts at having a respectable existence have done nothing more than deal her a blow she does not deserve.

She, however, isn’t usually one to complain too much. So a simple glance at her as she plies her vending trade at the bus shed along the Demerara Harbour Bridge road, would leave one convinced that she is a very contented middle-aged woman.

Scotland, formerly an employee of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. [GPL], has been operating a makeshift snackette for the past two years.

“I sell a little drink, water, biscuits, mints and so on…people passing to and from the bridge; sometimes, they want a little snack, so they just stop right here and get it,” said Scotland during a recent conversation.

Reflecting on the several years she worked at GPL as a cleaner, Scotland said that she always took pride in completing her duties. However, this was not enough to help her to hold on to her job when the company made redundant a number of its employees a few years ago.

She, like a few others, was afforded a decent severance package. It was some of her severance pay that Scotland used to invest in the small business that she now operates.

The woman, who will turn 59 in a matter of months, currently resides in Stanleytown, Number Two Canal, West Bank Demerara. But herein lies the problem she has been dealing with for years.

According to Scotland, although she is the type of person who lets very few things bother her, she has always been one to be very concerned about her living situation. Currently, home for her is squatting on a piece of land, which happens to be the property of another. As such, the woman said she is fearful that one day she could be evicted and forced to start all over again, essentially bringing to nought her years of hard work to put a roof over her head.

“I had a little shack, but I did some extension with concrete, but I know it is not my land, so I worry every day that the owner could come and throw me off the land, and that is no way for a big woman like me to be living,” said an emotional Scotland.

But not having her own land has certainly not been for the lack of trying.  You see, for more than two decades, Scotland said that she has been struggling to secure a house lot, which she believes is one of the most basic entitlements of a hard-working Guyanese citizen.

Even before skipping over the Demerara River to squat at her current place of abode, Scotland revealed that she resided at Albouystown, Georgetown. The property there was also not hers and she longed to have a place of her own. At the time, her children were very young and even as a single parent, she had the drive to do whatever was necessary to be eligible for a house lot.

Scotland recalled heading over to the then Ministry of Housing to make the necessary application, thinking that her single-parent status would have given the process a boost. She spoke of making sincere efforts to do whatever was asked of her to get things done. It wasn’t always easy, but she was determined to press on, even when getting some documents seemed near impossible.

All this went down during the course of 1994, Scotland claimed.  But according to her, “it turned out they just had me up and down for quite a while, and for nothing.”

It wasn’t until much later, she recalled being in receipt of a letter acknowledging her application for a house lot.

“They even promised me a land at Grove at one time I think; it was such a long time ago, I don’t even remember exactly where it was really,” Scotland admitted. But that promise of being awarded a house lot never materialised.

In fact, Scotland even recalled eventually marrying and continuing, with the support of her spouse, the campaign for a house lot.

But according to the woman, even after the deterioration of the union and the eventual death of her estranged husband, a house lot for her was no closer to becoming a reality.

She, nevertheless, valiantly continued to pursue the dream of owning a house lot.

“At one point they even called me in for an interview… I was running up and down thinking I was closer than ever to getting a house lot, then nothing. Eventually, I just got tired and just stopped running around completely,” Scotland reflected.

She however had renewed vigour to press on when she decided to tie the knot again, with her present husband, Keith Scotland. But even with their combined advocacy, the barriers simply did not cave.

However, Scotland was sure she had a fighting chance when the ruling administration changed in 2015.

“With the change of Government, I decided that yes, this was time for me to try again,” the woman related.

However, even after raising three children to adulthood, two marriages, nine grandchildren and another on the way, Scotland is still living in hope that she will eventually get a house lot of her own.

“All they keep telling me is that they have these turn-key houses but I want a house-lot of my own…people came after me and got house lots, so can somebody tell me what really happen to me?” questioned Scotland.

“I am not a foreigner and even foreigners coming here and get land, and I who worked for years and years, trying to do the right thing and go through the right process, can’t get one single house lot after all these years,” Scotland lamented.
The woman quietly revealed how she has even been told that an enticement-approach sometimes is the best way to go.

“Some people say I got to pay a lil money here or there, but I am saying I am Guyanese and if God is for me, He will have to provide a house lot for me, because I haven’t been doing anything wrong,” said a passionate Scotland.

The woman claimed she has even sought audiences with President David Granger as well as Minister within the Minister of Communities, Ms. Valerie Patterson, to no avail. But even as she celebrates yet another Mother’s Day today, Scotland is hopeful that her annual wish for a house lot will this year finally come true.

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