Sans Souci, a community on the north-western coast of Wakenaam Island

By Joanna Dhanraj

March 22, 2020

Sans Souci, a community on the north-western coast of Wakenaam Island, is home to approximately 200 people, many of whom are farmers and fishermen.

Sans Souci begins on the border of Good Success community and ends at Belle Plaine. Like its name implies—it means care free in French—it is open and friendly. During my visit, neighbours could be seen chatting with each other or getting together to play dominoes. Fishermen were working on their boats together by the seawalls or throwing cast nets into four-foot canals to catch catfish. Those who farm mostly plant rice, coconuts, ground provision, and plantains. They also plant cash crops though these are often not sold but kept for home use.

While I was walking through the village, a particular building caught my eye. It was a huge wooden, colonial-style building that was unlike the other houses in the village. Two large Guyana flags stood in front in the yard. At first, I assumed it was a public building and paused to take a photo catching the attention of the man sweeping up the leaves in the yard. He briskly walked to the gate and half-invited, half-ordered me in.

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At 83 years old, Aftab Zahoor has a brilliant mind, is agile and has a healthy posture. He shared that this was owing to his life as a fruitarian, coupled with yoga and other exercises. He has been a fruitarian for decades, having made a change 30-plus years ago.

The first thing he pointed out was a monument in his ‘Peace Garden,’ which was created in honour of his mother. Here and there fruit trees stood tall. Two coconut trees carried large bunches of water coconuts. He pulled up metal garden chairs beneath a mango tree for us and long mangoes dangled over his head as we sat and talked. Myriad flowers decorated this garden and the atmosphere was appeasing to the soul. Every now and again a rush of wind added to the sweetness.

Later on, I was blessed with one of his roses, some cool coconut water and jelly. As a fruitarian, Zahoor skips breakfast every day. He has coconut water, which he calls the water of life, and jelly for lunch and more fruit for dinner; he was planning to have a pineapple for dinner later in that day. Coconuts lined his verandah, waiting to be used as meals in the coming days. None were picked from either of his trees, Zahoor said, but bought from one of the vendors in the area as he has no one to climb his coconut trees.

Zahoor, who was born in another part of Sans Souci, said that his father bought the land and house he now lives in more than 80 years ago for $2,000.  Zahoor said that once when the Ethnic Relations Commission had visited, they said his home should be turned into a heritage building, given its style and history.

Zahoor is a naturopathic physician, called an ND or NMD. He studied and practiced naturopathy during his 23-year stay in Canada. He said it qualifies him to become Guyana’s minister of health. He has written a book, Treasury of Health Foods, and has presented autographed copies to President David Granger and ministers Khemraj Ramjattan and Joseph Harmon; he even posted a copy to Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai.

According to Zahoor, there was no need for President Granger to travel to Cuba to seek medical treatment since naturopathy (a system that use techniques such as controlled diet, exercise and massage) could cure him. He said that he, along with his late uncle Dr Rahat Zahoor who kept a health facility in the building he now lives in, treated many persons, including dignitaries and other persons in need of dialysis and other life-threatening issues in the past.

Zahoor, who was barefooted, explained that he goes about his day without footwear, including going to the shops.

Growing up in Sans Souci, he said, was fascinating and he wishes he could be reborn. He was 29 when he married his 19-year-old sweetheart. She was his next door neighbour. Zahoor shared that he first became attracted to her when he saw her daubing the bottom house. She was a friend of his sister’s and one day when she visited, he told his sister he was going to marry her. The girl reported this to her friend who replied that she was sure Zahoor was only joking. But by nightfall the same day, he was next door asking for her hand in marriage. According to him, he meant “business”.

They later had two children, but they eventually separated. The man shared that he raised his two children while they were young, as his wife was then pursuing studies in England and he noted that because they could not both be away, he forfeited two scholarships. During this time, he taught at Sans Souci Primary School, which was at that time under the Methodist Church. Among his pupils was Senior Counsel Neil Boston.

Zahoor gave me a tour of his house, pointing out his framed diploma, an old stove covered by newspapers since he stopped cooking many years ago, and a yoga bench on which he did a headstand, something he does every morning. His library of more than 1,000 books includes subjects like education, health, as well as the holy books of Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. He reads from all the holy books as according to him, “there is truth in all. There is only one religion which is love and there is only one God; we just pray in different ways.”

Though he is Muslim he no longer attends the masjid in the village as he believes it is abhorrent for there to be an abattoir in a mosque. He said a spiritual centre should not have a slaughterhouse.

Zahoor also spoke up against the rum shops in the area. As a doctor of natural healing who neither smokes nor drinks, he is disgusted by them and wishes they would close down or that there could be fewer, and people could be more serious about living healthy lifestyles. 

“The best things in life are free: fresh air, sunlight and water and I have that here. We supply the best rice, the best coconut, the best cattle to Georgetown and the best plantains but our island is being neglected. Thanks to Mr Granger, he made up the road…,” Zahoor acknowledged.

‘Like brothers and sisters’

In a yard filled with cash crops that went as far as the fence in the front yard would let them grow, Ackbar Alli sat in his hammock watching his television through an open window. Originally from Hamburg Island also known as Tiger Island, Alli first moved to Leguan with his parents and siblings before making a final move to Wakenaam where they settled at Belle Plaine, then Sans Souci.

As we spoke a woman parked her motorcycle on the road and entered the yard with a black plastic bag which she handed to him. Alli said that though he is a devout Muslim, he purchased a ticket from the Sans Souci Mandir which was having a food sale. Since his wife passed on five years ago, he has been living on his own. He, too, rides a motorcycle.

Reminiscing, Alli said that in yesteryears, Guyana’s currency had more value and a small amount of money could have gotten his family a basket of groceries. In his younger years, Alli worked as a rice farmer. He has since sold his rice farm and divided the money he got among his daughters. He plans on dividing his house and lands between his two sons.

The man shared that Wakenaam residents benefit from speedboat and ferry services. However, the ferry leaves the island at 5 am and leaves from Parika at 4 pm. The journey back and forth takes 3 to 4 hours so many persons opt for the speedboats. Yet there is another issue. While speedboats leave the island every hour at the cost of $1,000 per person, they wait hours to fill up at Parika when returning, sometimes more than three hours. Some endure the wait, but others take a Supenaam speedboat from Parika for $1,300 then take another boat from the Essequibo Coast to the island for $500 which works out about half the travel and waiting time to the island.

Alli’s daily routine finds him cooking for himself, doing chores, planting his cash crops and visiting the mosque four times a day. He goes to masjid at 12 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm and 7.30 pm. Every now and again he joins the men playing dominoes at the corner by the seawall.

“Here we live like brothers and sisters. We talk to one another, we say hi or hello, if you come over, we would gaff and thing lil bit and when you left, we still good,” he said.

Alli shared that his pension takes care of groceries and his light bill and some vegetables as he plants a lot of what he eats. He does not have to pay for water as he stores rainwater in his tanks. During the previous administration when pensioners had subsidy on water and light, he used water provided by GWI but after the current administration took power and pensioners were expected to pay for both light and water, he decided to forego his water services.

Former teacher David Persaud who hails from Success, Leguan moved to Wakenaam after being appointed to teach at Maria’s Pleasure St School; this was in 1961. Compared to Leguan, Persaud noted, Wakenaam was more developed.

Persaud and his wife are ardent church goers who attend the New Testament Church of God. They use taxis whenever going from one part of the island to the next. He noted that for persons taking the speedboats, a bus service is provided for them free of cost. What they do is call whichever of the two speedboat services they prefer, let them know they are travelling, and the bus designated for their section of the island picks them up and takes them to the boat.

Persaud shared that many of the youths leave the island in search of work. The couple’s children left home to pursue higher education and their two daughters are nurses in Scotland, while a son is a nurse in the US, two other children live and work in Canada. One son remains here, working as a security guard in Anna Regina.

Once, long ago, Persaud said, the island had a beach, but the sand has since been washed away.  Today youngsters play at the park in the village that was donated by residents who now live abroad. Also, as regards recreation, residents of Wakenaam head to Tiger Island on August 1, each year for a fun day where they meet and catch up with residents from Leguan and the Essequibo Coast.