Clarendon man hoping his luck changes
Owen Tapper's life story reads like a series of unfortunate events.
Sleeping on the dirt floor of his home in Sangster's Heights, Clarendon, his small shack looks like a strong puff of wind can cause its demise. Tapper said that he is hoping that a house which is being built on his property can be completed before the hurricane season begins on June 1. Now 83, Tapper said he was a hard worker, but while working with a JPS contractor in the 1960s, an electricity pole fell on him in Yallahs, St Thomas. Suffering multiple injuries, including a slipped disc, he had to be hospitalised and did physiotherapy. He said he was instructed by the doctor that he could not return to his job. Tapper said the contractor never compensated him.
"Him used to give me a money now and den until him stop" he said. His downward trajectory continued when he left the Corporate Area and returned to the parish of his birth, Clarendon. After saving for years, Tapper estimated that he had approximately $800,000 in a bank account and hoped to build a sturdy house on lands he inherited from his father. But he said he ran into issues with the bank. Tapper said he took the bank book to the teller and was told that he didn't need it anymore, as he would receive a 'chip' to collect the money. So he threw away the bank book. After returning to the bank, he said he was told that there was no record of his account. "The lady said if I had the bank book they could help me," he said.
After that setback, he said he built a little lodging but even nature worked against him as two hurricanes, Gilbert and Ivan, have left his house in its current state. Tapper said it is the grace of God and friends that have helped him to survive.
"Mi have a brother, him live in Kingston; him actually in the same position as me, can't help himself," he shared. Tapper is also facing issues to get a pension, as he lost his birth certificate and has been unable to replace it. The news team reached out to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's office in May Pen. A staff member said that without a National Insurance Scheme number to begin the process, applying for a pension would be problematic.
Despite his bad luck, Tapper expressed gratitude for "a little touch up from Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH)", which helps him out.
Jean Lyn, who assists Tapper, said her greatest wish is for him to move out of the dilapidated house. She said that Tapper's brother, Horace Davis, and his children are trying their best to work on the house, but need material to complete it and would love a helping hand.