Stress for Nagoo family, although help coming in

The trauma of being evicted from their home and forced to live in a car have now taken a toll on the physical health of one of three South Oropouche siblings.

The eldest child now has stress-related symptoms including insomnia, chest pains and headaches, said her parents 27-year-old Indira and 38-year-old Dave Nagoo.

“Since then to now, we had to take her to the doctor twice,” Dave said.

“The doctor said she has stress and needs to rest. She is not sleeping properly and getting breathing problems. We believe that she is stressed because of this whole incident.” The girl attends the South Oropouche Government Primary School.

The Nagoo family previously lived at St John’s Road, South Oropouche. Their home, the subject of a court dispute, was demolished on October 9 and Dave, a fish vendor and gardener, was served with an order from the Siparia Magistrates Court debarring him from going within 100 metres of the property. With nowhere to go, the family slept in their old Nissan March car at different locations in south Trinidad for several days. Newsday highlighted their plight in late October and help came pouring in.

On November 3, Princes Town resident, 37-year-old Riaz Khan, through the prompting of his 10-year-old twin daughters Mariah and Mayah, began construction of a two-bedroom wooden house for the family. The incomplete house, on land belonging to his in-laws, is located about five minutes from where the family previously lived.

“We are very thankful for the help from Mr Khan and Mr Bones and everyone,” Dave said.

“This is not my land so think about what could happen here. Ms Vashti and husband are doing some electrical and I too am working with the interior of the house. I really want to know why they mash up my house.”

He explained, although the house is incomplete, the family moved into the structure because they had “no other option”.

“I really want to live on the property where I born and live all my life. We had tv, beds, music system but all of that they mashed up. So, while we have a house now, we don’t have a home. A home is where you feel safe and comfortable.”

His wife said, because of the court order, the family has no access to their crops resulting in great financial loss. Indira said her second child was diagnosed with lupus earlier this year and is on medication.

“She attends five clinics at the San Fernando General Hospital. Her medication is about $1,500 monthly. If the hospital does not have the medication, we have to pay for it ourselves. This is a serious battle. We still prefer if we were living at the other location,” Indira said.