Manmay LaKay Magazine Issue 2 April 2018 | Page 88

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Life in the barracks…
“We were paid US$400. In today’s dollars it
may not seem like much but back then it was a
lot of money,” he says. “We were given an
allowance and the rest of the money was sent
to our bank accounts at home.”
James said the forced savings was a way to
make sure they had money when their
contract ended and that their dependents
were taken care of.
And although second and third jobs were not
allowed, special privileges were given to ‘good’
workers to work on other fields. James earned
that privilege but that was after getting caught
sneaking out to another job.
“The Super noticed that I was gone every
weekend so he decided to wait for me
around the building one morning,” he
remembers. “But, I had been working on
that other job for about two months
already.”
"'Where are you going?' the Super asked
me.
“'To work,' I said. ‘He didn’t like us
working for other companies.’
“'Let’s go back. Come over here, make
some breakfast,'  he said to me as he
opened up the kitchen. 'And from now
on let me know when you’re going.'”
James earned special privileges not
only because he was a good worker but
because, well…