- By Stephen Sackur
- HARDtalk, Smith Creek, Guyana
1 hour ago
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Despite the country's newfound oil wealth, not much has changed in Smith Creek
In Smith Creek, far northwest of the border with Venezuela, 300 people live in a collection of dilapidated shacks perched precariously on wooden stilts.
A crowd of small children, some naked, play on the muddy bank of the salty, muddy stream.
Traditional canoes – carved from individual tree trunks – glide by, carrying families and their supplies. The nearest source of fresh, drinkable water is nearly two hours of continuous paddling away.
At Smith Creek, it's hard to believe that Guyana can claim to be the fastest growing economy in the world.
There are no signs here that the country has become a major league petrostate. Eleven billion barrels of oil lie in the Stabroek Block undersea reserve off the coast of Guyana, but the fossil fuel wealth is not yet flowing to the people of Smith Creek.
Instead, they make a living as best they can. Fishing, farming, dependence on remittances from family members who go to work in the gold mines far to the south.
Look closely, however, and there are the first signs of change in Smith Creek.
The largest structure in the settlement is a newly constructed concrete shed with solar panels on the roof and specialized food processing equipment inside its spotlessly clean interior.
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The shed with solar panels stands out among the green pepper fields
Here a group of locals, all indigenous Warrau women, gather to tend and pick the surrounding pepper bushes – special Wiri Wiri peppers: tiny, red and highly prized in Guyanese cuisine.
The women run their own trading business – growing their crops, drying them, selling them and achieving a form of economic independence for the first time in their lives.
Head grower Evonnedy Wells works along the line of bushes, picking the small round peppers and placing them on a metal tray. She told me how important the project is for the community.
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Evonnedy Wells is one of the women who works as a pepper picker
“Women can buy things for their children and their family,” she said. “There used to be no jobs in Smith Creek. We had problems. Now we have tasks to complete.”
Annette Arjoon is the coordinator of the pepper project and has indigenous heritage herself.
“Women’s options are limited, so it’s a big challenge,” she tells me. “The project has made a real difference. It is a source of income for them, supplemented by their own farming and crabbing.”
It may be remote, but the patchwork of rivers, mangroves and dense forests surrounding Smith Creek has taken on new strategic importance in the past year.
Because this is where the area of Guyana known as Essequibo – the two-thirds of Guyana that lie west of the Essequibo River – meets the Venezuelan border.
For a year, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been loudly pushing for his country's long-standing claim to Essequibo.
Just downstream of Smith Creek, the border between Guyana and Venezuela runs across the Barima River. Both countries have floating border posts on the river just 100m apart.
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The Venezuelan flag flies at the border post
Intelligence reports indicate that the Maduro government is building a new military base further inland, and Venezuelan army and navy units have reportedly been reinforced near Essequibo. But everything is quiet on this border section.
The majority of the local population are indigenous Warrau. They live in the forest on both sides of the border and cross the border with impunity.
Whatever the tensions between Caracas and Georgetown, the locals seem unconcerned about it. Black market trade across the border continues unhindered. Venezuelan boats dock on the banks of the Barima River near the Guyanese town of Mabaruma.
They trade cheap Venezuelan diesel for fish to take home.
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Fish is a local staple
They hide the names of their ships, but one captain was happy to sell this passing reporter a bag of ice cream.
So what's behind Venezuelans' decision to increase tension in the historic Essequibo dispute?
Her complaint goes back to the demarcation of the border in 1899, which she believes was manipulated against her. The world became aware of the issue last December when President Maduro held a referendum on the issue, which predictably showed overwhelming popular support for Venezuela's claim to sovereignty.
President Maduro apparently sees a political advantage in enforcing the Essequibo claim. It is stoking nationalist sentiment and diverting attention from socialist Venezuela's failing economy – a win-win given the looming presidential election later this year.
But there is also a whiff of economic opportunism in the air. Essequibo has long been known to be resource-rich.
In Mahdia, in central Guyana (also within the borders of Essequibo), gold mining is the dominant industry.
I visited the Red Hole mine, where owner Bernard Christopher Alphonso and his team of local workers worked.
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Bernard Christopher Alphonso and his crew operate the Red Hole mine
Bernard is originally from the Guyanese coast and tells me he moved to the area many years ago. “We ventured inland to mine gold – El Dorado,” he says, “that’s why we’re here.”
His family owns a dozen concessions around Mahdia.
The crew spent a week flushing, sifting and sorting dirt from an open-cast mine. I watched as they took the nuggets and powder they had mined and melted it all down into a glittering gold bar.
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Bernard's family owns several gold properties in the area
“Six ounces,” explained Bernard Alphonso, smiling. “That’s $12,000 (£9,500) at today’s price.”
The forest surrounding the town is littered with scars from current and past mining operations. Environmental concerns about deforestation and mercury poisoning of local soil and water have not diminished gold's appeal.
Essequibo may be sparsely populated, densely forested and largely inaccessible by road, but it promises long-term resource wealth for those who govern it.
And that's without taking into account the biggest potential prize of all. This comes not with control over the Essequibo landmass – the size of Greece – but with the offshore property rights that come with it.
Venezuela has watched Guyana partner with oil giant ExxonMobil to exploit the vast oil and gas reserves in the Stabroek block more than 150 km off the coast of Guyana, and insists that this seabed and its riches be exploited under the Essequibo claim to rightfully belong to Caracas.
What happens next in the dispute over Essequibo?
President Maduro has dialed back his more bellicose rhetoric. He and Guyana's President Irfaan Ali have promised to resolve their differences peacefully.
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President Maduro and President Ali appeared more relaxed as they exchanged gifts at a regional summit last month
However, that did not stop the Venezuelan parliament from passing a law declaring a federal state in the disputed territory. The government of Guyana condemned this as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.
When I spoke to President Ali in Guyana's capital, Georgetown, he told me that his country had the support of the international community: “If anyone does anything to destabilize our country and invade our country in any way, shape or form, we will call.” Us ask every force and every friend to help us and cooperate with us to protect our territorial integrity.”
An armed conflict and a violent takeover of Essequibo by Venezuela's much larger military appear unlikely for now. And for many who live there, it's not even their most pressing concern.
Back on Guyana's remote northern coast, near Venezuela, Annette Arjoon took me to Shell Beach, a valuable breeding ground for several species of giant tortoises.
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Annette Arjoon says the project has helped locals, especially women
“When you consider that the government is pursuing an oil and gas sector and the revenue from that will go back into these vulnerable and impoverished communities, I think it's a good thing,” she says.
“But one thing that needs to be done in an environmentally friendly way.”
Guyana is determined to fend off Venezuela's claim to its land and resources. The more difficult challenge may be to ensure that the country's newfound wealth not only exacerbates existing inequality and environmental vulnerabilities, but benefits all of the country's people, even in the most remote corners of Essequibo.
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