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What were some of the di culties experienced by Indian Immigrants in theCaribbean?

• Accommodation/Housing on estate. Immigrants were generally housedin ery rough and poor barrac!s or ranges. "hey were often wooden

structures co ered with gal ani#ed iron and no ceiling and sometimesa dirt $oor. "hey were ill entilated and there was much o ercrowdingand poor maintenance. "he barrac!s comprised a number of rooms ofabout %& ft by %'ft each( side by side each housing a family. )oomsopened onto a narrow gallery or erandah. )ooms were oftenseparated by wooden partitions not reaching the roof so that it waspossible for an occupant of one room to stand on a box and loo! into orclimb into the ad*oining room. "herefore these barrac!s li!e pri acy.Also ery often there was an absence of latrines and pro ision of safedrin!ing water. +rin!ing water was often trench or cree! water.

• Health conditions among Indians was generally poor. +iseases suchas malaria(typhoid( yellow fe er( dysentery( hoo!worm andground itch were rampant among the Indian indentured ser ants.Communicable diseases spread on account of improper wastedisposal( contaminated water and simply from the fact that theylac!ed protection on their feet. ,ritish o cials refuse to supplythem with shoes and though medical attention was supposed tobe pro ided regularly( this is not always so. "here was also a highinfant mortality among the Indian immigrants and their diet waspoor. -ree medical treatment was gi en howe er the uality of

ser ice gi en is uestionable since estate hospitals wereholdo ers from the days of sla ery when they were also used asloc!ups.

• 0ecti e communication was also a problem since many could notspea! nglish so they would ha e had di culty with instructions metedout to them and in defending themsel es against their masters whenthey breached the contracts.

• When Indian immigrants sought redress in courts against theiremployers they found it expensi e( complex and weighted againstthem.

•

Indians were often discriminated against by white colonial masters andthere was also some tension with the blac!s who saw them aseconomic ri als.

• Indians had to obey ordinances which fa ored the planters. "hey couldnot for example drin! li uor in estate housing or use disrespectfullanguage to or ma!e insulting gestures to those in authority. It was alsoillegal for them to congregate outside the plantation to discuss

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grie ances or to refuse 1reasonable2orders. ,rea!ing ordinances couldresult in a 3ne or *ail sentence.

• "hey were also sub*ect to punishment such as $ogging.• "ime spent in *ail had to be made up to planter in the labourer4s free

time.•

5ow wages of on a erage %s 6d for a man and 7d for women andimmigrants under age %6.

• "heir mobility was restricted. " hey could only lea e estate with apass. In ,ritish 8uiana indentured Indians are not allowed to gofurther than 9 miles from their estate without a pass. "hey couldbe apprehended without a warrant by the police( Immigration: cer or their employer. en those who had their freedom orwere no longer bonded were re uired to carry Certifcates o Exemption rom Labour’ which they had to present to thepolice when demanded.

• "he number of Indian women brought into the Caribbean was farfewer than Indian men and often this resulted in ri alry amongIndian men for the few women and extra;marital a0airs whichresulted in *ealous men chopping their wi es to death. "he wifechopping murders was a common practice particularly in ,ritish8uiana and "rinidad.

• Another problem the Indians faced was the tas! system oflabour. before being eligible for repatriation to India.

• "here was a high le el of illiteracy among Indians. "his isbecause Indian children were discriminated against in publicschools and many parents did not feel comfortable ha ing tosend them. Also this is due to the fact that many parents fearedthe con ersion of their children to Christaianity.