PUP’s Cordel Hyde says eviction orders were without consideration

Cordel Hyde

For his part, area representative Cordel Hyde acknowledged that the issue of squatting in Lake Independence has been a perennial problem.  He believes that the sudden measures taken by the government were heartless and draconian.

Cordel Hyde, Area Representative, Lake Independence

“It’s not a new problem but it’s how you deal with things.  There’s a right and wrong way how you deal with things, you understand.  You can’t go and meet squatters there and just act in a Draconian manner as though you are trying to impress the world that you have a twenty-five to six majority in the government so you can do what you want.  You have to approach it and have some empathy and understand why the people are there in the first place.  People don’t go and squat and build three hundred foot of London Bridges because they want to.  They go there because they have to.  They can’t afford rent, they can’t afford to.  They can’t get a piece of land [because] they’ve been turned round and round like a merry-go-round and so you have to approach the process with a little bit of sympathy, with a little bit of understanding and try to sit down with the people.  Nobody knew that the government wanted to build a city center, wanted to put a bus terminal there, nobody.  Not myself, not any resident from there, nobody.  You come and talk to people, organize them and discuss with them and say listen you are in the way let us try to work this process out.  There’s only a dozen of you, fifteen of you or however many of you and let us try to sit down and see how we can relocate you if possible, if you are in the way.  You can’t go there in the middle of the night and break down people’s houses with no regard for human life, with no regard for their property.  That’s cold, that’s senseless.  That’s cruel in 2011.  This is not way back time, this is present time, you know.”

By this afternoon, the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño, had fired off a letter to Prime Minister Barrow, expressing concern over the heavy-handed manner in which squatters were evicted. According to Briceño, it is unacceptable that children were dragged from their beds at four o’clock in the morning to watch their homes being destroyed. The letter also called on the PM to uphold his commitment to display compassion for the poor and to protect them. Briceño asks that shelter be provided to the now homeless families and says the process could have been carried out in a more dignified manner.