Today, the water is not shut off in my apartment. I am lucky. It is supposed to be off because my landlord has not paid $71,000 (about $800 Canadian) worth of fees to the building owner. As a tenant living in “delinquent” apartment, the guards are also not supposed to sell me laundry tokens, raise the gate for me when I want to enter or leave the premises, or deliver mail to my mailbox. The three guards have been instructed as such.

I have already had the water shut off once for a day or two as a result of this situation. I called the landlord on Saturday and she was angry with me for complaining about the situation. Sigh. At least I am moving in a few weeks. And at least the guards seem to be on my side. My bills are all paid up (I pay for water and power myself) and Cuso sends my landlord the rent directly so she is supposed to pay the building owners herself. Who knows what she is doing with these funds, but they are clearly not going to the right place.

All this to say is that I had an encounter yesterday with Miss Monica (a guard) that illuminates the Jamaican spirit. When a perceived injustice occurs, an instantaneous, passionate reaction ensues in the form of a fiery diatribe. I have some confidence to say this now as I’ve been here for awhile. Anyway, I was coming home from a run and stopped to chat with Miss Monica. On Sundays, she likes to read the obituary section (to see if anyone she knows has died, she says.) So I give her this section.

As I was parting, she said, “Kate, come here.” So I went back. “Do you still have water?” she asked. “Yes, I do,” I said, “But I know, it is supposed to be shut off.” Yes, Miss Monica said, adding that some other “delinquent” residents said they had their water shut off. Miss Monica then launched into a tirade, denouncing the unfair position she has been put in as the guard. It is not fair that she is now in the middle of a conflict between tenant and building management. Management has dictated that the guards do not accommodate us “delinquent” tenants, or they could face discipline. Of course, this is unfair to me as I am completely up-to-date on all my bills, it is my landlord who is in arrears, so why should I be punished, Miss Monica and I wondered.

And what if I am a confrontational person who gets angry when the guards do not raise the gate for me, Miss Monica asked. She has a point. Apparently, it is not uncommon for this to occur, having a “delinquent” landlord, and unfortunately, the building managers have put the guards (who make very little money) and the tenants in the middle. They will be disciplined if they do accommodate us, Miss Monica said, and that could mean losing their job.

I do need laundry tokens at the moment, so I was curious and decided to ask Miss Monica if she would mind selling them to me despite management’s instruction not to do so. Would you do it anyway, and risk getting in trouble, I asked? At that moment, Miss Monica’s posture changed. She raised herself to her full height and said, “Of course, man. Mi a Jamaican, mi have a broad back.” She went on to say that she would not let management tell her what to engage in such an unfair activity (I forget her exact words). I loved the immediacy of her response, her fire and her equation of her spirited action with her nationality.