We thank Fr Church for highlighting the punishment Amerindians suffer on the ferry to the North West District

Stabroek News
http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56518184
Saturday, April 14th 2007

Dear Editor, I would like to thank Father Aloysius Church S.J. A.A for the noble stand he took for the people of the North West District. If you haven't experienced a trip on the ferry you won't understand what it is all about. I would like to invite the Minister of Amerindian Affairs to take a trip on the ferry. It is the most hellish experience you'll ever have to go through. First let me start with the toilet and bathroom facilities, if they can be so called. They are in a filthy state. The seating accommodation is not enough. People have to walk with pieces of cardboard, mattress and hammocks if they can find a place to put them because by the time all the passengers get on the boat all the space would already be occupied by the hucksters. There are people vomiting all over. There is no drinking water, you have to sleep like a cat because of rampant stealing. You have to put up with loud music and obscene language. If you have daughters or sisters travelling you have to hope they are not taken advantage of. The Amerindian people are being treated like dogs on the North West ferry. Then there is the deliberate slow driving to conserve fuel and lubricants so they can be sold in the north west. I think that the minister should look into this criminal practice and put a stop to it. This is something that has been going on for years but nobody wants to bell the cat. I invite the media houses to highlight this issue. No human being should go through this kind of treatment. I thank Father Church and I know most of my fellow Amerindian brothers and sisters would too. You are our champion, we applaud you for taking this bold step for our cause. We would like to see others following in your footsteps. I know our Honourable Minister will also try her best to rectify this situation. Yours faithfully August Fraser