Dear Editor,
I write to draw readers’ attention to the speed which the Boston police, with assistance from the FBI and the anti-terrorist network, were able to crack the marathon bombing case. Great intelligence and cooperation from a sympathetic public, including foreigners who came to participate in the marathon, helped to identify the attackers and then to find them.
If the Guyanese police, politicians and the public followed the Boston example, many crimes would be solved and many would be avoided in Guyana. Photos taken by the public in Boston brought out the images of the suspects in the horrifying attacks. In Boston, the police asked for the public’s assistance and got it. I am sure pictures exist of who did the shooting in Linden last July and who robbed people in Agricola. Cameras were in use and the events were videoed. There are people who know who committed the crimes in Linden and Agricola and are protecting the culprits. The politicians in parliament, the police, lawyers and the public know exactly what happened. The attackers should not be protected. It is not too late for the police to ask for the public’s help to identify the attackers in both places and bring them to justice.
In America, the public generally tends to help the police identify, find and prosecute criminals. People take the lead to fight crime to promote safe neighbourhoods. In Guyana, it is well known, from conversations with victims of crimes, that families and communities tend to protect bandits and violent attackers as well as drug traffickers. Some even store stolen goods and monies. There were many incidents, from research conducted by many people, in which bandits robbed or violently attacked people and obtained sanctuary in the houses of others. What kind of message are communities sending if they protect criminals, vandals, drug pushers and other deviants? It is time for communities to take an active role to expose deviants and stop protecting criminals who run into the homes of friends, neighbours and family members to avoid the law. People should quietly report them to the police in order to reduce crime.
With regard to the marathon attacks, those attackers don’t know the kind of damage they have inflicted on immigrant people in the greater Boston area and the state of Massachusetts, especially in relation to education. It is an attack on the warmth, friendliness and hospitality of the city. Boston, like New York, is known for its warm welcome to immigrants who seek higher education. Massachusetts, specifically the greater Boston area, is home to some of the finest and oldest learning institutions in America. Without Boston and other welcoming cities like New York and Chicago, we wouldn’t have had a higher education. Many from Guyana and other Caribbean nations as well as from India and other parts of Asia, the Middle East studied in these great cities.
There are few places as friendly and as welcoming to foreigners as Boston. I travelled to Boston a few times to interact with scholars at Harvard, MIT, etc. Many Guyanese aspired to study at Harvard and MIT. Many of my Professors studied in the greater Boston area. So many Indians and other immigrants studied in the Boston area with scholarships. Many of my colleagues in GOPIO studied there and are making enormous contributions to America and other countries. It is inexplicable why anyone would want to attack such a friendly city. Ditto the World Trade Center in NY on 9/11 making life difficult for immigrants. It is hoped that the Boston attacks will not make it difficult for immigrants like me who visit again and want to gain admission at its finest learning institutions.
As the police work has shown over the last few days, complex crime can be solved quickly with cooperation from the public. Criminals must not be protected. The Guyanese public, police and politicians should use the Boston example. The public should come forward with information on who they know have been perpetrating various acts of crime in our homeland. Let us jointly work together to root out evil in our society.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
