Chinese Landing still awaiting word from Lawrence on request for halt to mining over coronavirus fears

Despite an appeal to de facto Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence and other authorities to suspend mining in Chinese Landing due to fears over the possible spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Region One community, Toshao Orin Fernandes says there has been no response.

Although mining has been deemed an essential service that has been partially exempted from restrictions instituted to curb the spread of COVID-19, there is a provision for a Village Council, once it has determined that a public health threat exists in relation to any mining or forestry operation carried out as an essential service, to recommend to the minister that the operation be discontinued.

In a letter sent to Lawrence in April and seen by this newspaper, Fernandes called for urgent intervention as he said that mining activities are being carried out on titled land in the village without any permission from the village council. “We look helpless[ly] every day at people coming into our village, setting up shops and working dredges and pumps. Since our village has no gates and is open, people from all walks of life continue to pour into our village at various points,” he wrote.

Fernandes told this newspaper on Friday that mining activities in the village continue to potentially expose villagers to the virus, which the village council is not equipped to handle. The community does not have the necessary health resources and is located several miles away from the nearest health post.

Fernandes noted that a longstanding land dispute between the council and claimant Wayne Vieira adds to the community’s fears since persons from all walks of life are using’s permission granted by Gladston John, one of Vieira’s overseers, to enter.

“They come to mine the lands but them completely ignore the village council and go straight to the lands claim by Mr Vieira. The activities of mining are still happening but when the miners would hear that the GGMC [Guyana Geology and Mines Commission] Wardens are coming they move out,” Fernandes related.

He noted that after the village’s letter was dispatched to Lawrence, two wardens from the GGMC visited the community to check on the mining activity. However, Fernandes was not sure whether the visit was as a result of the letter to the minister or a scheduled visit.

Additionally, he explained that the council had offered to take the wardens to the mining areas but they indicated that their visit was short, making it impossible to visit areas identified by the council as being where mining activities are taking place.

With the community being a riverrain one, Fernandes said it is impossible to monitor the number of persons entering and this further exposes the villagers.

He also stated that the council had written to John and asked that he desist from granting permission to persons to conduct mining activities but the request has been ignored.

“Many persons are bypassing the council and entering the community. We don’t get to [always] see who are… entering and it is very hard for this council because we remain exposed to the virus and we have been asking the ministers to stop mining for this period because of the safety of our community,” Fernandes lamented before emphasising that he believes that the risk of someone in the village contracting COVID-19 is relatively high due to the free movement.

He noted, too, that the community does not benefit from police presence as the nearest station is miles away.

Additionally, Fernandes said they also communicated the situation to Junior Indigenous Affairs Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe via WhatsApp and they were awaiting a response.

Secretary to the National COVID-19 Task Force, Imran Khan, when contacted on Friday told this newspaper that he would be seeking a response. However, none was provided up to press time.

Chinese Landing is not the only indigenous community facing challenges with keeping outsiders out of their villages. Many villages in the Rupununi recently began to complain of the challenges they faced by miners who are currently involved in mining.

While they had took the independent decision that outsiders will not be allowed to enter their communities, Region Nine regional authorities had intervened and granted permission for miners to enter the communities.

Michael McGarrell, the Amerindian People’s Association’s Geographic Information System specialist and Forest Policy Officer, has warned that Guyana’s Indigenous communities are at risk of potentially devastating consequences if

COVID-19 makes its way into any one of them.

He cited communities’ limited access to medical supplies and care as being among the main factors that will contribute to the decimation. “There is still a high volume of persons traveling and engaging in social activities that will not go hand in hand to social distancing…therefore, it must be reconsidered as to how we approach this, what measures need to be in place. Some communities have some screening but there is only so much we can do as communities. [We have to get inputs] to come from a policy level and this is how we can do it, the government can do to help us or we can be decimated,” McGarrell said.