In 1992 the fishplant closed when the moratorium on cod was announced. Elizabeth had been promoted to line manager. She was supposed to get a raise. Instead she was out of work. At the same time Joe's business began to fail. The province was in the middle of a recession. People didn't have money to spend on new siding. Out-of-work fishermen did their own repairs. Elizabeth didn't qualify for the federal fishery aid package because
she hadn't worked enough hours in 1990 and 1991. Elizabeth explained
that she hadn't worked many hours because there wasn't enough fish.
She even called up her MP to complain, something she had never done
before. But in the end the answer was the same. She was out of work.
She had no income. Joe got a job at a local pig farm. But he was soon laid off. He started collecting $129 a week UI benefits. It just wasn't enough. They applied for welfare for the first time in their lives. They were turned down. You can't get social assistance if you are collecting UI. The O'Brien's were sinking quickly. They turned off their electric heat. Joe cut wood almost every day so they could heat their home with the woodstove. Elizabeth began baking all the family's bread. She made it from sacks of flour Joe got cheap from a local grocery store. The bags were broken open and moldy. But the flour was fine. Elizabeth cut off the mold and used the flour. She took in sewing. Joe did odd jobs for the neighbours. They paid him in cash. Joe didn't report the money to the UI office. He worried about getting caught, but they needed the extra money. When Joe's UI ran out, he got a job driving a school bus. It didn't pay well, but if they didn't buy anything except food they would be okay. Elizabeth began applying for jobs. She would take any job. She applied to work on the town garbage truck, but they didn't want any women. She applied for road crews in the area, but she was told she was too old. In 1992, 88,000 Newfoundlanders were living below the poverty level. Of those, 61,000 were living on welfare. There was a lot of competition for even the lowest paying jobs. Elizabeth thought she could go back to waitressing. But the restaurants wanted high school students or high school graduates. Elizabeth decided she'd have to lie about her education and her age. She dyed her hair black to help her look younger. She needed a job. She didn't care how she got it. |
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