We are becoming desensitised to murder

Dear Editor,

SASOD extends its condolences to the families and loved ones of the six children and five adults killed in Lusignan on Saturday morning. We urge that full support is given to the persons who survived this massacre, especially the children.

As a society, we seem to have dealt with the violence which escalated since 2002 on the East Coast by becoming desensitised to the news of murders which happen far from us. The more gruesome pictures in sections of the print media have done little to galvanise change, but rather it has allowed us to become dispassionate about murder and violence. There seems to be little improvement in the capacity of the security forces to bring the perpetrators of crime to justice.

Not only has crime grown more sophisticated, but the pathology of the criminals seems to indicate total disregard for life and a savagery which seems to have caught the society completely off guard. The security forces should then receive all support in order to deal with this extremity of murder and violence and should be able to request that support from within and outside of Guyana.

In a society in which our diversity has been manipulated to pit us against each other, SASOD urges all Guyanese to use the expressions of our collective anger and grief to continue to advocate for the changes needed in our society to ensure that all citizens can enjoy a safe and secure life.

Yours faithfully,

Stacey Gomes, Joel Simpson and Vidyaratha Kissoon on behalf of SASOD