The International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana (IDPADA-G) said it has already identified a team of lawyers to represent residents who were ousted from lands at Mocha/Arcadia, East Bank Demerara to facilitate the construction of a road.
The rights group said it continues to engage residents to determine a path forward that “ensures this inhumane attack on their property rights is addressed, and these horrific injustices confronted”.
Several weeks ago, heavy-duty equipment and police ranks descended on the community to remove several families who were occupying spaces in the area, which the government has categorised as a squatter settlement. The residents, however, have argued that the lands are ancestral.
More than 25 families have been removed from the area and placed into new houses in nearby communities. Some were also allocated farmlands. Last week, the government noted that only about seven families have chosen to remain. With support from the Opposition, those individuals stood their ground, despite President Dr Irfaan Ali’s promises of brand-new homes and other relief in the government’s “compensation” packages.
Still, encouraged to demand hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation by the Opposition, those families have refused the government’s payout, noting that the lands they are being asked to vacate will increase tremendously in value after the road is constructed.
The administration has refused to make those payments, reiterating that the lands were not procured by former slaves, and are in fact, government-owned lands. President Ali told the nation several days ago, that despite the illegal occupation of those lands, his administration conducted itself in a caring manner by offering alternative accommodations to those families.
But IDPADA-G, today lamented the way in which the residents were removed.
“IDPADA-G member organizations and the wider African Guyanese family are united in the pain we feel in seeing our brothers and sisters, children and elderly disrespected and discarded with such inhumanity. We will fight together to restore what is theirs and heighten our vigilance to protect African Guyanese property owners.
To this end, IDPADA-G has brought all of the nine affected families together and has identified a team of lawyers and other experts to provide the assistance needed in their fight for justice. The Mocha Arcadia families have coalesced and as a group will engage in the upcoming negotiations with the government represented by a team of experts organized by IDPADA-G.”
IDPADA-G is asking the public to donate funds to help those residents through “Friends of IDPADA-G”, a non-profit organization registered in Maryland, USA. Persons desirous of donating can visit IDPADA-G on Facebook to find the Friends of IDPADA-G link.
“We call on all Guyanese of good conscience in Guyana and across the diaspora, to support them, as they still suffer the shock of dislocation and tremendous loss. In spite of years of hard work and saving to build their homes and businesses, these families are now homeless, some have lost their livestock – their source of family income. Community members and relatives have generously opened their homes to shelter them. Your donation will help meet their immediate needs for clothing, food, medicine, legal representation and other expenses. Please contribute generously,” the group said.
