The Sou Sou Lands Co-operative Society, a non-profit organisation since 1987, has said it is willing to help find land for the people who were evicted from Ramjattan Trace, Arima, last week.
“We would like to speak with them because we feel like we can assist,” said chairman of Sou Sou Lands Co-operative Society Lennox Sankersingh, in an interview with Newsday on February 9. “We can also go to them. We can chat and see what is possible.”
Sankersingh said while the lands the organisation has available may not be close to Ramjattan Trace, if squatters were to visit the Sou Sou Lands office in Couva, iy may be able to help.
“If they make contact with us we can show them where we have land. If they are interested in getting a lot, we can fix a price and take it from there.”
Ramjattan said since the organisation was formed it has helped over 3,000 families and distributed over 2,000 parcels of land.
“If we know that people are squatting in a particular area and we are aware that the government is going to demolish their homes, we try to intervene on their behalf,” Sankersingh said. “Many times our efforts are not successful, because the government may have earmarked the land for certain things, but we still try to talk to people if we are aware.”
[caption id="attachment_1137566" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Residents of Ramjattan Trace, Arima, clashed with police on February 6 as their illegally constructed homes were demolished by order of the Commissioner of State Lands.[/caption]
Sankersingh made the offer after a total of 12 homes said to be illegally built in the La Culebra site at Ramjattan Trace, off Tumpuna Road, Arima, were demolished on February 6.
A release from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) on behalf of the Commissioner of State Lands said the operation was an attempt to address illegal squatting at the site.
A history of helping
Sankersingh said the co-operative started almost 42 years ago, when one of its founders, then MP for St Augustine John Humphrey, sought to relocate 17 squatting families who were to be evicted from the Trincity estate, where the Trincity Mall stands today.
“The owners of the estate wanted to build the mall and they wanted the squatters off the land. Of course squatters wouldn’t just get off the land, because they built their homes there, invested their money and were raising their children there.
“The owners got a court order against the squatters, which was their right, so the squatters went to Humphrey to help them because they knew he was sympathetic to squatters. He had been helping squatters since the 1970s.”
He said Humphrey tried to get alternative land for them. He asked the owners to stay their hand on demolishing their home for two weeks, then went to Sankersingh, who had recently been admitted to the Bar.
“I wrote the owners and asked for the extension and they granted it. So we had two weeks to find a place to put them.”
[caption id="attachment_1137488" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Ted Brown salvages belongings from the
