Boys and men surround a garbage truck at the Riverton City dump. Many fortune hunters scavenge for food and other objects to make a living. - photo by Paul Williams

He said he was in the eighth grade, but he was not at school because he had no lunch money. As the rays of the mid-morning sun hit his brown eyes, he squinted. His short, black, curly hair glistened but the dirt on his discoloured face could not mask his frustration and shame as he barely opened his mouth to speak.

It is Thursday, another day in Riverton City, another day of scavenging for food in the dump. This is the reality of Rajiv, an Indian-Jamaican youth who survives, as do scores of others, on the food they harvest at the landfill that borders St Andrew and St Catherine, near the Duhaney River.

The dump is known as 'Dungle', an iconic name shared with the slum featured in H. Orlando Patterson's Children of Sisyphus. It is now situated atop a hill overlooking cane fields and urban developments.

For years, it has been a hunting ground for food, clothes, broken furniture, malfunctioning electrical appliances, zinc sheets, board and utensils. You name it, they've got it in Dungle.

In a discussion with a group of residents, juices and other 'groceries' retrieved from the dump were displayed for The Gleaner. And like a chorus, they told how much the dump was contributing to their livelihood.

"You nuh see how mi fat? When mi go doctor, doctor say, 'Mother, what you feeding on?'" Maxine said with pride, twirling to show her massive build. "You want to see we daughter an' son how dem big an' strong."

Goodies galore

"Is it dem feed out o', you know how much pickney it sen' go school," another woman chimed. (Because of reservations about the media, many inner-city residents only disclose their first names, if at all.)

"Look pon dem yah nice things yah, you see anyt'ing wrong with them!" Maxine shouted while showing off her bag of goodies.

One young boy, Chuey, offered this reporter some of the brightly coloured Skittles he had to prove they were fit to be eaten. In the background, young men echoed the sentiments of the women, explaining the strenuous search for food for their many children, some of whom were frolicking in the river nearby.

Residents said there has been an increase in persons flocking the massive dump in recent months. They surmised that the recession and the rise in unemployment are contributing to the spike in fortune hunters. They were also quick to debunk the perception that only Riverton City residents frequented the dump.

"Three-quarters of the people them who hustle pon the dump nuh come from Riverton. Them come from all St Thomas, Manchester, St Catherine, Clarendon, Portmore, all 'bout the place," said a National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) worker, whose name cannot be published because he does not have clearance to speak to the press.

Daily workers

While talking with the residents, The Gleaner observed well-dressed people making their way into the dump. According to the residents, these people actually come to 'work' every day, hunting for objects which can be sold for recycling and other purposes.

After an afternoon of sifting through the refuse, they take a bath in the river and change back into their regulation gear.

"Them come to work because the money what dem a mek fi de week can pay their mortgage, can pay rent fi who a pay rent, can sen dem pickney go a school, can buy food put pon dem table," said Devon, a long-time resident.

Rajiv himself had a big bag in his hand. Wearing an old oversize jacket, he made his way through freshly delivered piles of garbage. The eighth-grader, who looks much older than his years, competes with cows, birds and pigs for food.

Life-and-death matter

Devon and Maxine's pronouncements, lambasting the NSWMA for trying to prevent them from going to the dump, are poignant reminders that scavenging is a bread-and-butter issue.

"The chicken truck come, the juice truck come, the biscuit truck come. Dem look one bag, and that a go home go stock dem fridge. So when dem go home, dem pickney have nuff sup'n to eat," Devon said.

Maxine concurred: "You see all the little biscuit, give de pickney dem inna dem lickle schoolbag, the juice dem inna dem lickle bag ... . Dem want to know how much Dungle food we nyam, none a dem nuh healthy like we. None o' dem!"

paul.williams@gleanerjm.com