Y’all see the amount o’ people who turn up at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford centre the other day tuh get a li’l job?
Well, well, well, I gine tell ya, I nevah see nothing so yet.
Somebody pass and tell me dat duh had a sea o’ people line up out there by Ilaro Court; dem duhself didn’t even know what it was all about at the time. But when I look in the paper the next day and see all o’ dem people and realise what it was all about, all I could say was dat real nuff people outta work and desperate fuh something tuh do.
You could imagine dat dat big hotel chain, Sandals, which duh say was going tuh be operating here in Barbados, was opening soon and was looking for at least six hundred people? Six hundred people duh say? I think from what I saw there in the paper, it look more like six thousand tuh me.
I also think I heard somebody say dat these interviews was going tuh be for about three days or something so; but lemmuh tell ya, I think the response dat first day, jump evahbody. I doan think dat anybody expected this kinda turnout.
The paper say dat the line went from the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre all the way down the road tuh the official residence of the Prime Minister, Ilaro Court. Ting, dem is real people in trute hear?
Wha’ ya doan see dah kinda thing happening in Barbados. All o’ dem people lining up tuh get work? Ya would more see something like this when duh got certain big shows but fuh work? It only goes tuh show you how very desperate people are. And look, duh was standing up there long long in the hot broiling sun trying tuh get in tuh do the interview.
Look, duh had all kinds o’ people out there. Duh had young people who just left school and looking fuh something tuh do. Duh had young people who nevah work before in duh life but because duh see how brown things is and getting, decide dat dem gotta get something tuh do if duh intend tuh survive. Duh had people who nevah work in the hotel industry before but was willing tuh try anything.
People who get laid off from duh job and decide dat it ain’t matter wha’ kinda work um is, as long as it gine pay the bills, dem gine do it. Duh had people out there who still had a job but wanted tuh change tuh something different.
Duh even had some people out there wid qualifications and, because duh couldn’t get anything tuh do dat would match dem qualifications, like duh make up in duh minds dat a li’l simple job is better than having no job at all. And then duh had some people out there who just wanted tuh work in the Sandals hotels.
Look, I gine tell you something. I ain’t one tuh preach nuh doom and gloom because I know dat this too shall pass. It cahn be this way forever but, from the look o’ things, duh got a lot o’ people out there who really got it rough; some desperate and some smelling hell and I sincerely hope dat this economic situation would ease up a li’l bit so dat people who really need a job tuh support and look after duh families would be able tuh do so.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
