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Down, but not out
HEART TO HEARTBetty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Dear Reader,
I felt it was important to stand in solidarity with the men and women whose lives have been destroyed as a result of the financial meltdown of the 90s and the resultant "Finsac'isation" of a large percentage of the entrepreneurial class of our country. After all, I thought to myself, "injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere" and none of us knows when our time will come. As a scholar of South African history, it dawned on me that we here in Jamaica stoutly supported the anti-apartheid struggle in that country, even when most of us had never set eyes on a native South African. What more for our own? I thought, as I made my way into the auditorium for the meeting of Finsac'd Entrepreneurs last Saturday.
As I walked into the room, what struck me immediately about the group was the "middle-agedness" of its members. Most of the men are grey-haired. At least one of them that I know is close to 80 years old. The women affected, some single, others in debt along with their husbands, all appeared to be in their late 50s or early 60s. One older gentleman cried throughout the presentation, as speaker after speaker told their stories of destruction at the hands of Finsac.
I listened in disbelief - sometimes in shock, at the details of what I call an "era of human desolation". One gentleman who walked up to the microphone was on crutches, another unable to tell his own story because he had suffered a heart attack and couldn't risk becoming anxious or excited. Later, I would spend close to an hour listening to one gentleman as he related his ordeal.
"It started in 1980 when myself and four others, all professionals, decided to buy a 500-acre farm in Portland. It was a beautiful property bounded on one side by the Rio Grande. The main activity would be fish farming, but we also grew cash crops, coconuts, and we had been successful in securing a mining licence to mine sand, gravel and limestone. At the height of production, we employed 150 workers, although at intervals, that number rose to almost 200 male and female labourers.
"The first loan we secured of $1.6 million was in l986 to facilitate the cultivation of winter vegetables at an interest rate of 9 per cent. Things progressed well after that, and it was clear to us that the farm in no time would become a viable and prosperous entity.
"Regrettably, Hurricane Gilbert hit us in l988 and the property was severely damaged. As a result, we were forced to borrow an additional $1.2 million. Like the first one, this one too was a specific agricultural loan at an interest rate of 12 per cent, and with a monthly payment of $66,000. As the farm struggled to get back on to its feet, we had difficulty repaying the loan on time, and there were instances when the payments would be made several days after the due date.
"By l990, the interest rate on our overdraft facility almost trebled. By the end of that year, our debt had moved from $2.8 million to $5 million, even while we were making our monthly payments of $66,000. Two years later, the interest rate moved to 60 per cent, and we now owed the bank $7 million. As the interest rate on the overdraft facility, coupled with the penalties kept moving upwards, our monthly payment moved from $66,000 to $660,000, a ten-fold increase, and an amount almost equivalent to our gross earnings. Of course, we couldn't meet the payments and the bank in no time issued a demand letter forcing us to put the farm up for sale.
"At the time we advertised the farm for sale, it was valued at $30 million. The only substantive offer at the time came from a gentleman who wasn't interested in farming but in the mining potential of the farm. With our backs against the wall, we were forced to sell him the property for $11 million. After paying the government its share in taxes, we turned over every cent of the remaining $10 million to the bank, thinking that the amount would cover all the debt. It didn't. We were told that we owed an additional $16 million."
"The train of destruction then began moving with speed and determination, as the bank and then Finsac zeroed in on all my assets. I had signed over any "free and floating assets", so they could basically take everything I owned, and they did.
I had several vehicles, including one which I had given to my 80-year old father and a Mercedes Benz which was free and clear, which was a gift to my wife for our wedding anniversary. I will never forget what happened on that Sunday morning when they came for her car. Her piercing scream still resonates in my ears and in my soul to this day, as she held on to the door post of the house and wept as they took the vehicle away. By the time they stripped me of everything, my wife had been so mortally wounded, that she opted to leave the marriage taking our children with her, never to return.
"Everything I had was taken away, including my spirit and my soul. I lost so much weight that it was rumoured that I had AIDS. I spent months at a time locked away in a room by myself. There were times when I didn't even bathe. I walked around with holes in the bottom of my shoes and my pants were so worn out that you could see my brief through them. I eventually moved back in with my parents in whose house I lived for seven years. I almost lost my mind, and at one point actively considered murder. I actually pictured myself on death row."
"So what now?" I asked. "I don't know exactly how much I owe," the gentleman replied. "It must be approximately $100 million by now. But I am going to fight back. Thanks be to God for His grace and mercy. I am alive, and my spirit and soul have been revived."
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
HEART TO HEARTBetty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Dear Reader,
I felt it was important to stand in solidarity with the men and women whose lives have been destroyed as a result of the financial meltdown of the 90s and the resultant "Finsac'isation" of a large percentage of the entrepreneurial class of our country. After all, I thought to myself, "injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere" and none of us knows when our time will come. As a scholar of South African history, it dawned on me that we here in Jamaica stoutly supported the anti-apartheid struggle in that country, even when most of us had never set eyes on a native South African. What more for our own? I thought, as I made my way into the auditorium for the meeting of Finsac'd Entrepreneurs last Saturday.
As I walked into the room, what struck me immediately about the group was the "middle-agedness" of its members. Most of the men are grey-haired. At least one of them that I know is close to 80 years old. The women affected, some single, others in debt along with their husbands, all appeared to be in their late 50s or early 60s. One older gentleman cried throughout the presentation, as speaker after speaker told their stories of destruction at the hands of Finsac.
I listened in disbelief - sometimes in shock, at the details of what I call an "era of human desolation". One gentleman who walked up to the microphone was on crutches, another unable to tell his own story because he had suffered a heart attack and couldn't risk becoming anxious or excited. Later, I would spend close to an hour listening to one gentleman as he related his ordeal.
"It started in 1980 when myself and four others, all professionals, decided to buy a 500-acre farm in Portland. It was a beautiful property bounded on one side by the Rio Grande. The main activity would be fish farming, but we also grew cash crops, coconuts, and we had been successful in securing a mining licence to mine sand, gravel and limestone. At the height of production, we employed 150 workers, although at intervals, that number rose to almost 200 male and female labourers.
"The first loan we secured of $1.6 million was in l986 to facilitate the cultivation of winter vegetables at an interest rate of 9 per cent. Things progressed well after that, and it was clear to us that the farm in no time would become a viable and prosperous entity.
"Regrettably, Hurricane Gilbert hit us in l988 and the property was severely damaged. As a result, we were forced to borrow an additional $1.2 million. Like the first one, this one too was a specific agricultural loan at an interest rate of 12 per cent, and with a monthly payment of $66,000. As the farm struggled to get back on to its feet, we had difficulty repaying the loan on time, and there were instances when the payments would be made several days after the due date.
"By l990, the interest rate on our overdraft facility almost trebled. By the end of that year, our debt had moved from $2.8 million to $5 million, even while we were making our monthly payments of $66,000. Two years later, the interest rate moved to 60 per cent, and we now owed the bank $7 million. As the interest rate on the overdraft facility, coupled with the penalties kept moving upwards, our monthly payment moved from $66,000 to $660,000, a ten-fold increase, and an amount almost equivalent to our gross earnings. Of course, we couldn't meet the payments and the bank in no time issued a demand letter forcing us to put the farm up for sale.
"At the time we advertised the farm for sale, it was valued at $30 million. The only substantive offer at the time came from a gentleman who wasn't interested in farming but in the mining potential of the farm. With our backs against the wall, we were forced to sell him the property for $11 million. After paying the government its share in taxes, we turned over every cent of the remaining $10 million to the bank, thinking that the amount would cover all the debt. It didn't. We were told that we owed an additional $16 million."
"The train of destruction then began moving with speed and determination, as the bank and then Finsac zeroed in on all my assets. I had signed over any "free and floating assets", so they could basically take everything I owned, and they did.
I had several vehicles, including one which I had given to my 80-year old father and a Mercedes Benz which was free and clear, which was a gift to my wife for our wedding anniversary. I will never forget what happened on that Sunday morning when they came for her car. Her piercing scream still resonates in my ears and in my soul to this day, as she held on to the door post of the house and wept as they took the vehicle away. By the time they stripped me of everything, my wife had been so mortally wounded, that she opted to leave the marriage taking our children with her, never to return.
"Everything I had was taken away, including my spirit and my soul. I lost so much weight that it was rumoured that I had AIDS. I spent months at a time locked away in a room by myself. There were times when I didn't even bathe. I walked around with holes in the bottom of my shoes and my pants were so worn out that you could see my brief through them. I eventually moved back in with my parents in whose house I lived for seven years. I almost lost my mind, and at one point actively considered murder. I actually pictured myself on death row."
"So what now?" I asked. "I don't know exactly how much I owe," the gentleman replied. "It must be approximately $100 million by now. But I am going to fight back. Thanks be to God for His grace and mercy. I am alive, and my spirit and soul have been revived."
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
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