Was it the Gold Curse?

Sep 05, 2018 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

It was on one of my many trips to Guyana, that a good friend of mine, paid me a visit
We were enjoying a few drinks when he told me of his clever way of making extra cash, from his employer.
The company was one of the largest gold mining companies in Guyana.
It bothered me for many years before I decided to write this letter.
I am hoping it would save the lives of others, with similar ideas, if it was indeed, “The Gold Curse.”
He said he worked in one of the main buildings and described the way the gold would pass over his head in a sealed section, with a rotating conveyor belt system.
He and others made an opening, big enough, to take out a little gold at times, then they would wrap it in plastic, tie the head and swallow it, to elude the tight security system the company had in place.
This went on for a very long time. I had even forgotten about our conversation, until one summer, I called my family in Guyana to say hello, and I was told that my friend was very sick and was in a private hospital in Georgetown. He was having severe stomach pains and was stooling in bead form, the way goats’ droppings are.
The doctors did not diagnose the cause; he passed away a few weeks later.
I had totally forgotten about our conversation at the time, but months after, it dawned upon me,
“What about the chemicals they use to wash the gold?”
I wonder, “Was it the Gold Curse.?”
J.C. Grant-Stuart Snr
Toronto. Canada

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News