Dear Editor,
The Essequibo Coast seems to be a very dangerous place to live in these times; gone are the days when elderly women can live alone in their houses. It saddens my heart to learn of the gruesome death of a well-known lady of Henrietta Village; police investigators are now probing the brutal rape and murder of 74-year-old Auntie Surspattie Singh, who was living alone.
Our society has to be protected from dangerous predators. We as human beings cannot ignore the fact that the crime took place in a quiet neighbourhood with peaceful people living in unity. It came to light when the neighbours did not see her and began searching her house. Many are angry at the police and local officials for failing to prevent widespread violence against women.
The killing of Surspattie Singh has caused outrage on the Essequibo Coast, and should spur the new government to hurry through a package of laws to protect women. Only last week another elderly woman from the nearby village of La Belle Alliance was dragged from her home and raped by a man from the same village. Yet another elderly woman who was living alone at Lima New Housing Scheme was beaten, dragged and robbed of her money and jewellery. She is now living with her son in Georgetown; she is afraid of being killed like Surspattie Singh.
For every notorious rapist/killer who is caught and punished for their crime, there are many others who get away with it and remain unidentified. In some cases, there is a promising suspect, with enough evidence to charge them with the crime, but they get away with it. However, that doesn’t make them any less creepy.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
