Dear Editor,
Very often in our collective conscience we encounter events that are probably significant, or at the very least noteworthy for the insight that we should gain from them. However, usually because of the frequency with which we perceive such events to occur, we continue along in our lives, barely registering the daily tragedies and crimes that take place. One such incident occurred a short time ago, and I feel compelled to remark upon it.
A little child died recently. He was no more than a year and a half old. He was of mixed ethnicity, perhaps encompassing as many as four of the different racial identities found in Guyana. His young mother, who was already separated from the father, for no apparently discernible reason, forcibly denied the father’s family the privilege of providing day care for the child whilst the mother and grandmother worked during the day. Instead of spending his days in a nurturing home environment, he was forced to stay with an older teenaged cousin, of questionable mental and intellectual ability. Whilst in the care of this cousin, the infant was killed. He was found by the mother, and examination confirmed that there were multiple rib fractures, extensive liver trauma and internal haemorrhaging. Varying and conflicting accounts were given as to how the infant perished. Respon-sibility for his death was repudiated by all, and the child was prepared for burial.
After a solemn and heartbreaking ceremony, the child was taken to the maternal grandmother’s residence for viewing, before proceeding to the home of the father, then to the site for interment. At the home of the grandmother, there was a lengthy and visibly disingenuous performance, incendiary and insulting to the father and paternal relatives. Fortunately, for all concerned, this demeaning behaviour was ignored and the paternal relatives peacefully departed for the remainder of the funeral duties.
I bring this incident to your attention to request that some light be shed on the matter by the relevant authorities. How is it that a baby’s life can be destroyed in this fashion, and absolutely no one be held accountable? The teenager in whose care the child had been, had not been in school for some time. Where is the hue and cry about why this has been ignored, and why is his grandmother (who is presumably the guardian) not questioned as to why she forcibly entrusted the care of a baby to an immature potentially unsound minor? In a country whereby we have been brutalized by sociopathic teenagers who clearly were left to pursue violent and sadistic paths of development, should we not be concerned about any incident that even remotely hints of childhood deviancy? Given the vast array of vicious and ruthless behaviour that we are continuously entertained by, are we not obligated to provide greater scrutiny for youth that may be at risk?
From a personal standpoint I was particularly appalled by the above incident on account of the racial and ethnic tensions it exposed. The deceased child’s maternal family are of Indo-Guyanese descent, and the paternal family is Afro-Guyanese.
This was apparently of no great import to anyone, but the maternal grandmother, who made clear her disdain for the child’s afro-Guyanese family. One would have thought that since her child had chosen to commingle in an intimate manner with someone of a differing ethnicity, she would have moved beyond the ignorant and petty racism that has so long plagued our country. Alleged comments made by this specific individual have fuelled speculation that the maternal grandmother was perhaps not as moved by the death of her grandson, despite Shake-spearean protestations to the contrary.
This is terribly distressing given our remarkable development as a nation and ascension in the international arena, highlighted by the propensity of our President to demonstrably foster amicable ethnic relations. At a very basic and personal level, we are still mired in the disgusting muck of entrenched prejudices and bigotry.
This calamitous ignorance has oft been the Achilles heel of our young nation, surfacing at times of controversy and heightened emotional situations. In a very real sense, it belies our growing international image as a nation of disparate peoples living as one, and instead reduces us all to the level of nasty provincial intolerance which we have striven so ardently to eradicate.
It is hoped that this death will not go unnoticed or unmarked. Those who are in a position to make further enquiries that meaningfully contribute to a proper resolution of this matter, should consider whether their obligations lie in ignoring it altogether.
Yours faithfully,
Scheherazade Ishoof-
Khan
Editor’s note
Under the Coroners Act an inquest should be held into this child’s death. Under that law all unnatural deaths are required to be investigated.
