Stabroek News
May 25, 2001

President of the National Amerindian Development Foundation, Ashton Simon, has contradicted official claims that there is no rodent crisis in Region Eight.

Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Simon criticised the Ministry of Local Government for downplaying what he described as a "very serious situation".

"The negative energy being exerted by officials over this very critical issue is to the detriment of the Amerindians," he said.

"The media has not blown the report out of proportion as claimed by Mr [Harripersaud] Nokta [Minister of Local Government]," he stated. "Probably the non-existent 'Labba Rat' yes, but not the truth that there is a food crisis in Region Eight."

He complained that the issue had been trivialised because of confusion over the term 'Labba Rat', used by Paul Martin of St Joseph's Catholic Mission, Kurukubaru, in a letter to government.

"I am not prepared to argue or try to confirm the species of rats that are destroying crops," he remarked. "Although Paul Martin used the term 'Labba Rat' does not negate the authenticity that farmers crops' are being destroyed.

"The rodent that is causing destruction in Region Eight is a big rat. The Amerindians refer to them as 'ou-la-leek'.

"This situation was existing a long time ago," he stated. "Many times when Amerindians make a point of concern to the relevant authorities it falls on deaf ears. Added to that, the time period of this development was during the Elections 2001 when administrative duties came to zero."

Simon recalled a visit to Kurukubaru on March 6, where community members complained about 'ou-la-leek' destroying their farms. They warned that if nothing were done to address the problem, they would be without food in a matter of months.

"It was sad hearing this from farmers who are historically independent in food cultivation," he said.

During his visit, Simon saw cassava crops, that Amerindians would usually dump because of its meagre appearance in the reaping stage, being processed for food. He indicated that the rodents had affected Kurukubaru [pop. c.800], Kato [pop. c.500] and Paramakatoi [pop. c.2000] and Kamana [pop. c.100] had suffered minimal damage.

Kopinang residents were pulling cassava crops because of the dry weather causing the crop to rot. They do this, Simon explained, to salvage and process the crop before it rotted.

He countered claims by government officials that the dry season had been a cause of the food shortage, explaining that the farmers would pull the crop early and process it into food rather than watch it rot.

He also dismissed claims that Amerindians neglected their farms in favour of gold mining.

"The Chairman [Senior Bell] seems not to understand Amerindian culture," he stated. "If Amerindians used to neglect their farms and engage in mining activities, in the process causing themselves food shortages, their survival over thousands of years is questionable.

"I do not wish to get into the ramifications of Amerindians and mining activities in relation to their family circle. The Amerindians have a foolproof plan of having food on the table once they are not affected by destructive elements.

"I urge the authorities to stop being vague about this critical issue and help the Amerindians," he stated.

Initial media reports suggested that the mysterious 'Labba Rat' was rampaging through Region Eight, a scenario dismissed by Nokta earlier this week. And Local Government Permanent Secretary, Pulandar Kandhi, had urged the media to verify reports with the ministry in future.

The government had sent a committee, including Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues, into the region to assess the situation, and Kandhi stated yesterday that a report was expected back today.

Nokta had said on Tuesday that if any governmental assistance was required it would be given, but denied any crisis in the region.

"Members of the press should have concrete information before publishing such a disaster," warned Bell, who expressed concerns for the region's fledgling tourism industry, which might suffer from any bad publicity.

Regional Administrative Officer for Region Eight, Peter Ramotar, stated that "had there been any crisis situation we [RDC] would have been the first to know and the first to shout for help."

"There are difficulties," he said, "but they are not as out of hand as it seems to be in the media."