With his house swaying in the wind on Tuesday afternoon, Sham Maraj’s instinct was to run outside. His sixth sense may have saved his life as within seconds, the wooden structure that he and his family once called home crumbled like paper.
While Maraj is grateful for life, the crab catcher and his wife, Monica were left to huddle in their car for a night’s sleep. Their 15-year-old daughter was able to rest her head at a relative’s home. The Marajs, like several other families in the Rousillac community, are struggling to rebuild their home after a mini-storm damaged between 40 to 50 homes. Meanwhile, the cash-starved Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC) is struggling to assist.
Maraj said the destruction came without warning and in less than a minute, his family became homeless
“The rain came down, the hard breeze started to blow and that was the end of my house. I was out of the house when it fell. The house started to spin and I went and throw everything outside. There was nothing I could have done… I did not get a chance to save anything and as I looked back, that was the end of the house. The house just went down flat,” Maraj said.
A diabetic and partially blind, he said it’s a struggle to find employment and enough money to rebuild his home. His mattresses, stove, refrigerators and clothes were all damaged. He does not feel confident in seeking help from the government, telling Guardian Media that, “it doesn’t feel it make sense asking the authorities for help because he can’t get a 10-days or CEPEP work.”
With rain pouring yesterday, he said that if the mangrove floods, he will be unable to make a day’s work because crabs will be difficult to catch.
In another part of the village, Steffon Deorajsingh described the weather as a “freak storm” that blew off his roof. He said the rain soaked his furniture and appliances as well as his mattresses. His family is seeking donations of material to rebuild their roof.
Chandra Ramadharsingh, councillor for the Rousillac/Otahetie district, said that arrangements were made with a hardware store to supply $1500 in material to the Marajs. Those families in need of mattresses were expected to receive by the evening. Ramadharsingh said attempts were made to contact the National Commission for Self Help for assistance, but no one answered the phones. SRC chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh described the residents’ predicament as a human tragedy.
But he said it was even more tragic that he could not respond with relief items from the SRC.
He said all that could be done through the SRC was to compile an incident report to provide to the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.