Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
Tearful Chinese Landing residents demand Govt. return their lands during “fact-finding” meeting
By Shervin Belgrave
Residents of Chinese Landing at the fact-finding meeting on Sunday
Kaieteur News – The Indigenous people of Chinese Landing, Barama River, Region One, broke down into tears at a “fact-finding meeting” on Sunday as they demanded the return of their titled lands.
Michael Miller, A Chinese Landing resident, demanded that his titled lands be returned
According to residents, the lands are used to provide for their families. As many cried, the residents accused the Government of taking away their “daily bread” and giving them to miners thereby forcing them to suffer.
The Indigenous residents said that the very miners the Government is giving the lands to, are destroying the environment and abusing their human rights.
A team of government officials led by Member of Parliament (MP) Alister Charlie visited the remote village on Sunday on a “fact-finding” mission to investigate allegations of environmental and human rights abuses against the Indigenous people at Chinese Landing.
Other members of the team included Head of the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Office of Professional Responsibility, Dennis Baird, Regional Health Officer for Region One, Dr. Steven Chefoon, Representative of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Collin Primo, Deputy Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Jimmy Reece and Senior Environmental Officer of GGMC, Vickram Manu.
Pastor Evon Thomas, a resident of Chinese Landing makes a point during the fact-finding meeting.
The team was sent to the Indigenous village following the issuance of Resolution 41/2023 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). That international body called on Guyanese authorities to implement a series of measures to protect the Indigenous Carib Community of Chinese Landing.
According to the Commission, the Carib community which has approximately 210 residents, is currently at serious risk of suffering irreparable harm to their human rights by miners and even some members of the Guyana Police Force.
Details of those risks were outlined in a petition to the international body which was filed by the Chinese Landing Village Council, the Amerindian Peoples Association of Guyana (APA), and the Forest Peoples Programme.
Blood is being drawn from a child at Chinese Landing to be tested for the presence of mercury.
At Sunday’s meeting, the head of the team, MP Charlie told the residents that his government stands with them in the fight but in the same vein, attempted to scold the villagers for complaining about their human rights abuse to the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) while refuting claims made that the government did nothing to protect their rights from being trampled upon by the miners.
The APA is one such organization that has been representing the people of Chinese Landing in their fight to regain their livelihood and stop the human rights violations against them.
Charlie started off by saying ” I won’t say that government isn’t doing anything” before adding, “We got to be careful residents, we got to be very much careful. We have Amerindian representatives, and NGOs are operating in the name of Amerindians, representing but we need to be careful, we got to be educated because we see a lot of NGOs using the Amerindians and I stress on the word Amerindians…[They] are using the Amerindians to access fundings for their organisation. We are being used, our Amerindians are being used”.
Member of Parliament, Alister Charlie
Just before cautioning the residents, the Member of Parliament sought to remind the residents of Chinese Landing that the government has been issuing grants to the community. His statement angered those present at the meeting. The residents said Charlie’s statement suggested that they should be content with whatever cash handouts are given to them and ignore the abuses they are facing on a daily basis.
Veron Miller, one of the residents, told MP Charlie that he needs to be mindful of what he tells the members of the community. Miller reminded that the community has been seeking help from the government for years but the help sought has not materialized. The resident noted too that had it not been for the intervention of the international organisation and the NGO, the government would not have sent a fact-finding mission to the village.
She said, “Especially to Mr. Charles (Charlie) let me tell you something today, the Indigenous people are not very happy and pleased.” Miller said it is the very government that shortchanged the residents by taking away their lands and giving them to miners. She made it clear that the issue isn’t a political one while noting that the rights of Amerindians are at stake.
“…When they (the government) give you $40,000 (part-time job pay) we does still got to feed we children beyond forty thousand dollars. When them give you a $50,000 flood relief (grant) we still have to survive beyond that,” a frustrated Miller said.
Toshao Orin Fernandes during the meeting at Chinese Landing on Sunday.
According to Miller, the residents of Chinese Landing would mine for gold to make extra money to support their families. This was in addition to farming and hunting. However, since the government sold the lands to large-scale miners, they are without the added source of income.
Miller said that not only have the large-scale miners used force to prohibit them from pork knocking but the environmental damage caused has chased away their fish. The residents of Chinese Landing have complained that the miners have also forcefully stopped them from accessing their hunting grounds. They are able to farm but the produce is only consumed by the residents since the miners have refused to buy their produce or support the community financially.
The only thing that is keeping them alive is farming and the villagers farm only to eat because the miners have refused to buy their produce or support their community financially.
“I try to educate my chirren. My son is out in Georgetown when I go and see the condition of me son because I couldn’t work to get money to buy food, my son turn like a skeleton and I am not the only person,” Miller lamented while adding “If you care about us… why would you sell four medium-scale mining blocks and ga we fighting for over 25 years?”
Similarly, another resident broke down in tears as she claimed that she spends many days without eating a meal.
In tears, she asked, “How yall expect we to get back money to send back we children to school?”
“We can’t continue mining because y’all take way we land just because the people a give ayuh lil gold. Yall is Government people… yall supposed to show we better example…this is really wrong fuh we. This shouldn’t a neva happen at Chinese Village. y’all think we could go by ayuh and tek away ayuh land them? No… neva! Neva! Neva! you will neva do that,” she lamented.
The fact-finding team that was sent to Chinese Landing by the government on Sunday.
The woman told the fact-finding team that the residents of Chinese Landing can ill—afford to wear fancy clothes noting that she cannot afford to put slippers on her feet or buy a new dress.
” Yall buy the slippers and give me fuh wear,” she clamored as he demanded “We want back our land… give we back we land!
The villagers made it clear that the only solution they want as it relates to the mining blocks on their titled lands, is for the government to revoke all mining permits it has granted.
They also requested impartial police protection from the miners since threats were made against their lives.
The team was unable to give any positive answers in relation to the revocation of the mining permits but promised that after investigating their complaints, a report will be compiled and shared with the Village Council for perusal. Thereafter, a meeting will then be organized between the village representatives and a high-level team to discuss the way forward.
As part of their fact-finding mission, Regional Health Officer, Dr. Chefoon and his team took blood, urine, and hair samples from some 46 households in the village to test for mercury poisoning.
It is believed that the miners have polluted the waterways and this has severely affected the health of residents. Toshao Orin Fernandes has already tested positive for mercury poisoning, according to the IACHR Resolution.
Additionally, the Head of the Police Force’s OPR, Dennis Baird, and his team took statements from villagers regarding the alleged collusion between police ranks and the miners’ alleged threats to their lives and terrorize them for the disputed lands.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) team led by Collin Primo took water samples to test for possible mercury contamination.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Landing Village Council in a statement after the meeting said, “The village had hoped that this meeting would begin the process of consultative discussions toward agreeing on measures to implement the IACHR’s request.”
The IACHR’s requests are; for the government to take the necessary measures to protect the rights to life and personal integrity of the members of the indigenous Carib Community of Chinese Landing with a cultural, gender-based, and age-appropriate perspective to prevent threats, harassment, and other acts of violence against them, to consult and agree upon the measures to be adopted with the people of Chinese Landing and their representatives and to report on the actions taken to investigate the events that led to the adaptation of this precautionary measure, so as to prevent such events from reoccurring.
However, Research Officer with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Anil Singh said that the fact-finding team is only dealing with the third precautionary measure given by the IACHR.
The government reportedly has 20 days to respond to the IACHR’s resolution and that deadline is set for August 10.
The Village Council also related that it was disappointed that the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs did not accompany the team on the mission.
“However, the community was disappointed to find out that the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, which is supposed to represent the interests of all indigenous peoples, was not part of the team,” the Village Council stated.
While the Council supported the temporary cease order by the government on all mining activities on the disputed lands, it believes that the action taken is not enough to protect the villagers’ rights.
“Whether or not they are mining, the miners are still present on the blocks, and they still carry weapons,” the Council said while noting that “the GGMC team sent to halt the mining informed us that they did not issue any new cease work orders on Mr. M.V blocks”.
“On hearing that a team was coming, the miners paused their work, as they routinely do when government teams arrive,” the village council said.
Although the results of the meeting were unsatisfactory to the villagers, the Council promised to continue engaging the government as was advised by the IACHR.
The battle for the right to Chinese Landing has been ongoing for 25 years.
In 1995 the Government had reportedly granted a medium-scale concession on the titled lands to Mr. M.V. without seeking the consent of the villagers.
According to the Amerindian Act of 2006, such action is unlawful.
Following repeated complaints, GGMC issued a cease work order to Mr. M V but he took the agency to court. The case was heard at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which ruled that the GGMC had no authority to order Mr. MV in November 2010, to cease all work at his Chinese Landing operation.
In March 2021, the Village filed a case against Mr. M.V. and GGMC in the High Court but that case was dismissed.
The Village has since appealed the matter and the decision is pending.
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Sir. Ronald Sanders
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Just to correct Sir, The Lady name is Veron Millington she was once a teacher for that community and a former village captain.