Unemployed pin hope on hotel reopening
Published:Saturday | March 10, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
ORACABESSA St Mary:
AS I cross the street leaving the old Golden Seas Hotel, it becomes obvious that the cyclist is aiming for our paths to cross and curiosity changes to apprehension when his first words reach my ears: "Wha happen boss? A work a go run over deh? When it a start?"
It took a little time for the full import of the question to register, after which I explained that I was not involved in the operations of the hotel but had, in fact, gone there to seek information. The disappointment was reflected in his face and the lethargic manner in which he rode off was in sharp contrast to the urgency that had characterised his approach.
Michael House, former operations manager of the 79-room hotel, which employed more than 100 workers during his tenure between 2006 and 2008, had just painted a daunting picture of the impact of its closure on the economy of Oracabessa.
These days he operates as caretaker for the nine-and-a-quarter acre property, sitting out front, where each day, he encounters the many persons stopping to enquire about its reopening. It is obvious that the hotel has been closed for some time, but people turn up almost daily asking about jobs.
House is graphic in his summation of the unemployment situation: "They need work badly, terribly. Government need to put a factory, or something, to create employment in the area. That is the problem because a lot of the young boys come here looking work. We did a cleaning up last year August, just chopping down the place, and if you see the amount of them who turned up!"
He suggested that the building of a cruise-ship pier in the area would promote the growth of tourism in Oracabessa.
Desperate
The job seekers, however, are not confined to young men, and again, House has a front-row seat to the desperate situation: "Suppose you see some nice girls who come here? They just want even a two-day work. They are desperate for the hotel to open because they attended HEART and high school, but they can't get any work."
House's care-taking task is made all the more difficult by the fact that the electricity and water have long been disconnected, and so at night, the property is in darkness. Warding off potential vandals in the day is hard enough, and so at night, especially, he mixes vigilance with an equal portion of caution.
People are waiting on the hotel to reopen, according to House, and he is optimistic that after four years, this is likely to happen soon and will make a big difference in the lives of the people of Oracabessa. Even though the property will require massive rehabilitation, the clean-up operation itself will generate employment, especially for the many idle youth.