Couva village faces eviction from Anglican Church

THE residents of a village in Couva are facing eviction from the Anglican Church which is trying to reclaim the lands on which the village was built about 100 years ago.

On Saturday, the residents of Milner Village off Carlos Street called for an urgent meeting with the board of the Anglican Church to find a way to save their homes.

The residents said if the matter cannot be resolved through dialogue, they will be considering their legal options.

The village, which is located off Carlos Street and the Southern Main Road in Couva, is home to 120 people. The majority of these people are pensioners.

In response to the concerns raised by Milner Village residents, Anglican Bishop Claude Berkely said he was confident that the board would be willing to meet with them to address their concerns.

Berkley said, "My knowledge is that the church has been striving to regularise tenancy on lands across Trinidad and Tobago (which it owns)."

He added, "Carlos Street is one of the long outstanding ones."

Berkley said,"My hunch is that the board (of the Anglican Church) has taken a decision to press on with what is procedural."

He was certain that the board would be willing to meet with Milner Village residents to discuss their concerns.

Berkley believed this matter with Milner Village "has come now after some kind of extended reaching out to the tenants."

He reiterated that the issues related to the village are "many years old."

Referring to eviction notices served on the residents, Berkely said, "That tells us that something is not moving."

Against this background, he continued, the board would be willing to discuss this with the residents.

Berkely did not know off-hand the acreage of land the church owns at Milner Village.

"I gather that there are many plots of land that have been occupied over many years."

While he could not indicate where else in TT the church was trying to reclaim lands it owns, Berkely said issues such as squatting and people trying to take over occupancy from other people.

"It is often a disregard for the church really."

Berkely had no information of residents at Milner Village engaging in any impropriety with respect to occupancy of lands there.

He said the church has been above board in dealing with Milner Village residents.

"I would be amazed if the church were engaging in unfair practises."

Berkely said the church was seeking to act justly and exercise its stewardship in the best way possible."

He added the church is "dealing with fellow citizens and treating with the children of God."

Told that some residents believed the church was acting dishonestly towards them, Berkely said, "Having raised it, I would have to ask why would people think that way. I will definitely want to follow that.

During a visit on Saturday, Milner Village resident Indar Budhoo, 66, recalled how "shockwaves went up my spine" when he and other residents felt when they received their eviction notices.

On October 26, 2021, Budhoo said he received a letter from the church which stated he pay a monthly rent of $1,000." Before this, Budhoo was paying an annual rent of $41.

Budhoo said in the letter, he was told to sign a contract relinquishing any claims he had to his property if he wanted to continue living there.

"There was no room for negotiation."

Budhoo has lived in the village his entire life.

"I have a relationship with this village, dating back 100 years."

Budhoo and his wife offer lessons to SEA students at their home.

Their house has a sign over the front door which reads "charity begins at home."

While the area has concrete houses and narrow winding asphalt-paved roads now, Budhoo remembered a time when it had mud roads, no electricity, bushes and no boundaries of any kind.

Another resident Jimison Sinanan, 72, said the history of the area goes back to 1838, when the lands were occupied by former African slaves and East Indian indentured labourers.

His son Arnold said there some confusion now as to who exactly owns the land now.

Arnold said the church sent surveyors to the village in 2020, "to regularise the residents."

He claimed the church was also offering to buy the land from residents.

Ann Millington-Hicks said different people got letters with different eviction dates..

A signed letter from attorney Colvin E Blaze, dated February 28, said the Diocese of the Anglican Church asked Jimison Sinanan to leave his property on or before March 31. Sinanan was advised in the letter he would be evicted if he did not but no such move has been made yet.

Millington-Hicks questioned why residents were being asked to pay an increased rent.

"To me, that is extortion."

She objected to the idea that residents could be forced to give up their properties and not be compensated for them.

Millington-Hicks had her property privately valuation at $2.1 million. She claimed the valuation from the church's valuator was $1.5 million. Hicks said the valuation from the church only dealt with the land and not her house.

She wondered if there were people elsewhere in TT facing a similar plight as their community.

Budhoo claimed a private valuator visited Carlos Street recently and said the area was not prime property.

"The roads need to be of a certain size with pavements and so on."

Arnold said residents wrote to the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury in England for assistance.

Arnold said the Archbishop's representative Jessica McClellan replied to them on March 31, indicating that the Archbishop had no power to intervene in this matter.

The residents were told to raise this matter with the Primate Church of the West Indies which is based in Barbados.

Arnold said that residents have sent letters to several religious leaders in TT asking them to persuade their counterparts in the Anglican Church not to evict them.