Five boys left to fend for themselves by parents
Stabroek News
June 20, 2004
All alone: Four of the nine children of the Ramdeen household left alone at their West Bank Demerara riverside home after their parents left them in search of work at Linden. (An Aubrey Crawford photo)
A shack on the western bank of the Demerara River is home to five young brothers who have been left to fend for themselves as their parents struggle to find work elsewhere.
The weather-beaten wooden and zinc two-room shack nestles at the end of a muddy dam a stone's throw from a sluice which when opened releases water into the Demerara River from the West Bank Demerara (WBD) community of Vriesland.
Shirtless, barefoot and carefree is how the five siblings seemed when Stabroek News visited the rural community to highlight their plight.
Life for Suresh, Anand, Ravendra, Rajesh and Remano Ramdeen might be less that perfect but they seem content in each other's company.
Their situation developed as a result of their father Rohan Ramdeen leaving about four weeks ago in search of work at Linden only to be followed by their mother, Gita, a couple of weeks later.
Little Anand Ramdeen cleaning fish caught for his dinner. (An Aubrey Crawford Photo)
According to neighbours, the mother of nine initially had left home without any of her children including a seven-month-old infant.
The children including the infant were left to fend for themselves under the care of their 13-year-old brother who would perform most of the chores.
Neighbours told Stabroek News how they were forced to assist in looking after the children, particularly the young ones after the mother had left them alone.
"Me had to bathe and give the baby milk since it was only crying," a neighbour told this newspaper yesterday.
However, the mother briefly returned after a week to collect the three youngest ones and then left again.
According to neighbours, the eldest child does the cooking and other chores in the home, a task which he had grown accustomed to since being saddled with it for some time now. He confirmed that his mother left them with rations, which he prepares for himself and his siblings.
Occasionally they would catch fish which supplements the diet, the boy confirmed.
He was proud of his cooking even as another of his siblings chimed in to indicate that he also helped out in the kitchen.
They later cleaned a fish they had not long before caught in preparation for their dinner.
Suresh also told this newspaper that he is enrolled at the Wales Community High School but has not been attending classes lately.
Neighbours also confirmed that the child only attended classes for about a week since the Easter break.
And Suresh said none of his brothers were attending school, as his mother has been unable to obtain their birth certificates.
Neighbours later confirmed that only three of the children are enrolled in school while the others could be seen hanging around the riverbank home.
The boys would occasionally receive a visit from their maternal grandmother who lives a few miles away in Patentia.
But most of the time they can be found wandering the riverside or the community.
As this newspaper left, the lads were boarding a small paddleboat and setting out for another fishing trip.