By Oluatoyin Alleyne and Sara Bharrat
The families of some of the men at the Lindo Creek mining camp who are presumed dead harbour faint hopes that their loves ones escaped and are torn by the question of who carried out the brutal attack.
Clifton Wong always called his family whenever he arrived at an interior location to work so when he failed to do so this time and did not return home on the expected date his wife got worried but she refused to believe that something was seriously amiss.
Collette Wong no longer has such solace because all that is believed to have been left of the men who worked at the mining camp where her husband was located are burnt bones.
“I still cannot believe, I still hoping that he is alive and will walk through the door. He is a man whenever he went to a location and things did not go as expected he would leave so I am hoping that he left and will come home,” the grieving woman told Stabroek News yesterday.
Wong is believed to be one of the eight men murdered by unknown persons at Lindo Creek, Brebice River sometime last week. Burnt human remains, believed to be that of the men, were discovered by their employer, George Arokium early Saturday morning. Also believed to have been murdered are Arokium’s son, Dax and his brother Cecil Arokium.
When Stabroek News visited Wong’s Norton Street, Lodge home, his wife was surrounded by their five children and other relatives and friends. Her eyes were puffy from crying and more tears flowed as she spoke of the man she has been married to for twenty-two years and one who literally lived for his family. Wong, a mechanic, has worked all his life in the interior so it was not strange when he left the home on 27 May. What was strange to the family was his non-arrival home on June 13 to celebrate one of his four daughters’ birthday.
The man’s wife said that he worked at many locations in the interior and was never stationary for long. His last visit to Lindo Creek was his second and he took along his friend, Lancelot Lee. His wife recalled that her husband was a very good mechanic who could have fixed any engine and as such he would receive numerous calls to travel to mining locations. She said that during his stay at the locations after completing his work on the engines he would also do some pork knocking.
“He would get calls all the time and he was the best at what he did,” one of the man’s nieces fondly remembered. His wife said Wong was a hard working man and one who was loved by his family. The woman said while she was anxiously awaiting her husband’s return she was hoping for the best but these hopes were shattered on Saturday afternoon when she received a call from one of the man’s nephews who indicated that he might have been shot. She said she finally got in touch with her husband’s employer at around midnight on Saturday night and he confirmed to her that the only signs of his employees were burnt bones. While speaking the woman kept saying that she wished her husband would walk through the door.
Over at Lancelot Lee’s South Ruimveldt home his family was also in a state of shock and disbelief. They only learnt of his suspected death after reading the newspapers yesterday morning. Up to yesterday afternoon they were still to speak to the man’s employer. They said the man, who has no children, worked in the interior his entire life. “I keep telling him, I said boy why you don’t stop working in the bush but he kept going back,” the man’s grieving mother said yesterday.
She said she was worried for her son following the reports of criminal elements being in the area but she still kept hope that he was alive and well and would have returned home.
A niece of the man recalled that he was a very jovial person and could safely be described as the “family clown.” “Whenever anyone was down and unhappy he would do all he can to put a smile on your face and make you laugh,” the young woman fondly remembered. She also recalled that he was a very dependable person who was always there to help others. “Whenever he is called upon he would come and help and he never leaves the job unfinished. He works until it is complete,” she said. “And his nieces and nephews were like his children, he would always take my little brother to buy a cricket bat or something, like a real father.” And while he has been doing pork knocking for all his life he was also very good at art, he loved drawing and was good at it. “I remember one time while in school I had to get a sculpture and did not know what to do and he did it for me and the teacher thought it was very good but it was not my work it was his,” the niece said. Lee was well known in the area and was a very good footballer.
The questions etched on the minds of the family of both men were who killed them. Lee’s family said they had more questions than answers and were hoping that some answers would be provided soon. They were also wondering how they would be able to identify the man’s remains because of its reported burnt condition. “What those men could have done to die like this? And who could have killed them then took the time to burn their bodies? I know it could have been Fineman (Rondell Rawlins) and his gang they said is in there but then again why they would kill them and then take the time to burn the bodies when they know the police and the army coming after them,” one relative of Lee asked yesterday.
With varying emotions relatives of 58-year-old Compton ‘Tona’ Speirs and 40-year-old Horace ‘Pona’ Drakes said that they have not been contacted by the police or the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) about the matter. Both families explained that they learnt about the incident in the most shocking manner.
Carmen Gittens, Speirs’ 70-year-old sister, said that she heard of the matter from the man, known to her as Shyam, who had accompanied Arokium, the owner of the mining spot, on what proved to be a horrific journey to the mining camp.
One relative explained that Shyam related what had happened and he said that he and Arokium discovered the scene when they arrived at the camp with rations for the men, only to be greeted by a disarrayed camp and remains of the dead men.
She said she last saw her brother sometime around May 21 just before he left for the mining camp. The woman explained that they didn’t hear from the man for weeks at a time and the news that he had been murdered was a horrible shock.
Speirs’ relatives said that they think `Fineman’ is being used as a “scapegoat” for some of the horrendous crimes being committed throughout the country.
The 50-year-old man leaves to mourn his 9-year-old son and many relatives and friends all of whom had the greatest respect for him. According to them, Speirs was a quiet man who was very friendly to those around him.
“Dem ain’t even leave us a body,” the aunts of Drakes said through steadily falling tears.
Natalie Hinds and Patricia Collins told Stabroek News that they were on their way to the hospital early yesterday morning when they saw the story of the camp murders in the newspapers.
“I hurry and went through the article,” Collins said tears still glistening in her eyes, “I couldn’t believe it when I saw his name, I was so shocked. I just kept saying Drakes…Drakes…” she explained.
Hinds, who is a serving member of the Guyana Police Force, said “We need to get to the bottom of the story and if we kill the criminals we won’t be able to get the story. Dead men tell no tales”.
“Every mother in this land must cry out to God for their children,” Collins passionately said, “because we are giving up our husbands and sons to brutality and this should not be,” she said.
Drakes, a father of five, did not deserve to die the way he did, his aunts said, “he wasn’t a criminal; he was just an honest, hard working man trying to make a living”.
