Fears simmer in Essequibo region as Venezuela eyes the disputed territory
Al Jazeera
Essequibo residents express anxiety as Venezuela advances its claims over the region, largely seen as part of Guyana.
Wakapoa, Guyana – The threat had always been there, ever since Lloyd Perreira was a young child: that one day his ancestral home could be absorbed into the neighbouring country of Venezuela.
A member of the Lokono Indigenous people, Perreira considers his home Essequibo, a vast territory on the western flank of Guyana. He grew up in Wakapoa, a village composed of 16 islands on the Pomeroon River, nestled in the heart of the region.
“Even as a small boy, I remember hearing Venezuela saying Essequibo is theirs,” Perreira said. “But I also know I live in Essequibo, and as an Indigenous person, Essequibo is ours.”
Perreira is now the toshoa, or chief, of Wakapoa. But his childhood fears returned when Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro recently held a referendum to claim Essequibo as his country’s own.
“We were very scared when we saw the referendum,” Perreira said, as he picked a harvest of rare liberica coffee beans.
