Seven months in, unemployed at wit’s end with pandemic

Jacquline McSweeney, 46, an unemployed mother of seven, shares a cramped efficiency apartment off Eneas Street with five of her children.

“It’s not easy finding food,” she told The Nassau Guardian outside her apartment.

“I get a little assistance from social services but it’s not much. It’s a little help but it doesn’t last because I have a big family. It’s embarrassing because I sometimes have to go to churches to get help and sometimes I don’t get it.”

McSweeney, who said she usually works odd jobs to make ends meet, is finding it difficult to secure a stable job during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she sent her 17-year-old daughter to live with her sister on Grand Bahama as a result of her worsening financial situation.

McSweeney said she finds herself constantly worrying about whether she will be able to keep a roof over her family’s head and food in their stomachs.

“My pressure is high right now,” McSweeney said with a playful laugh.

“I went to the doctor and they told me I need to stop worrying about things because it’ll just make me sick or whatever and I won’t be able to deal with my children. So, I’m trying.”

McSweeney’s apartment is one of about five situated on a large lot in Bain Town.

Her four-year-old son ran around the yard chasing after his older sister, a first-grader at Albury Sayle Primary School.

Staring at them from a distance, McSweeney said, “My biggest concern is putting food on the table for them and keeping a roof over their head. I won’t be able to manage much longer. I don’t know what the landlord is going to do because we ain’t get no assistance from social service.” 

Many individuals across The Bahamas have been struggling to make ends meet since March.

Over the course of the pandemic, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis has ordered the closure of non-essential businesses, implemented a national curfew and imposed weekend lockdowns.

The sporadic restrictions have forced some businesses to close permanently. Major hotels and other tourism-based businesses temporarily shuttered seven months later. 

The stagnation of the Bahamian economy has led officials to estimate a national unemployment rate of more than 40 percent.

“It’s pretty hard,” said Likita Austin, a 38-year-old mother of one, as she watched over her son during one of his virtual classes.

“I lost my job. I got laid off from Baha Mar. It’s not easy but I’m trying to just survive from day-to-day. I’m trying to stay positive. I’m trying to stay inside. I’m trying to follow all of the safety protocols and just try to see how best I can survive the pandemic.” 

Austin said her last day at work was March 13.

She said she never expected things to “be like this”.

“The hardest part is every day having food,” she said.

“We have shelter. I’m paying bills and surviving. I know it could’ve been much worse, so I just give God thanks. Throughout the pandemic, I have yet to go to bed hungry or whatever have you, so I’m thankful.”

Austin said the lingering of the pandemic is weighing on her mentally and emotionally.

“It’s very discouraging,” she said.

“Every time I look on social media and look at the [COVID-19] dashboard, it kind of stresses me mentally. I try not to look as much but I still want to be aware of what’s happening.”

Samuel Meadows, 28, a security officer, said he is trying to remain optimistic.

“You can’t just look at what happening and let it affect your life,” he said.

“I ain’t cripple, so I have to make things happen. I can’t look at my children and say, ‘Oh the government do this or that.’

“No, I still have to feed them. The government is doing things to ensure everyone’s safety and to get the COVID numbers down.” 

The Bahamas has reported more than 5,100 cases since March.

New Providence and Abaco have had the highest number of daily cases in recent weeks.

As a result, the prime minister last week reintroduced weekend lockdowns, during which essential businesses are prohibited from opening on the islands, in addition to an earlier curfew.  

Raymond Rolle, 41, a father of five, said last weekend’s lockdown was inconvenient for him.

“I was sick,” he said.

“I couldn’t get any medication. I had to wait for the pharmacy to open on Tuesday to get medicine.” 

Rolle described the experience as “hard”.

“The pharmacy should’ve been open,” he said.

When asked whether he supports the reintroduction of lockdowns, Rolle replied, “We been dealing with this for seven or eight months and we ain’t see no change. I think they should come with a different strategy.”

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