Dear Editor,
The $100 million, as stated by Mr Harmon in the article, ‘Money spent on Lindo Creek COI not wasted’, published in the Guyana Times newspaper on March 31st, 2019, in my view, was a total waste of taxpayers’ dollars. Where is the justice for Dax Arokium? What are the findings of the COI? What is in that report?
Nobody in this administration has the common decency or think that they have a moral obligation or responsibility to engage with the relatives of the Lindo Creek eight and let us know how our loved ones met their demise.
As of this moment, we the relatives are still to know what happened or who was responsible for the murder of those eight innocent men. Instead, officials, including the Attorney General, asked the relatives during a meeting, “Do you know who did it?” No! Mr Attorney General, those details were never formally shared with us.
Five million dollars per family Justice Trotman? Was that your recommendation? What about our recommendation that you advised us to submit? Forty million dollars (8 men x 5,000,000) compensation is probably less than what you received as payment from the $100 million taxpayers’ money as Chairman of the COI. Additionally, to add insult to injury, the Attorney General, during a meeting with the relatives on Thursday, August 8th, 2019, lamented that “five million dollars per family member is still iffy since the government has no money, and the Finance Minister may have to slash that figure when he re-examines the details.”
Was this your idea of a negotiation? Had we known that we would be stomped all over and disrespected in this manner, we would have at least furnished ourselves with some means of legal representation. Please do not forget that it is being thrown around that the army was responsible for the massacre of the miners, so please, for heaven’s sake, take some responsibility! There was an article in the Guyana Chronicle on August 11th, 2019, headlined, “Gov’t unwraps $1.5 Billion development package for La Parfaite Harmonie” featuring Mr Joseph Harmon. Yet, we are being told that a payout is not certain since government has no money! Is this a joke?
This is how awful things are. Dax Arokium left behind five siblings, a grief-stricken mother who had fought for years to get justice, a father (owner of land at Lindo Creek), who not only had to endure the pain of witnessing the skeletal remains of his beloved son and the other miners, but who was also told by government officials that he had to cease all operations on the land due to the ongoing investigation. This was the man’s only source of income. It has now been 11 years and counting since no income was generated from this land. During the so-called negotiation by the Attorney General on August 8th, 2019, Mr Arokium was reliably informed that he, his wife, nor sibling were eligible for compensation. Why? The reason advanced is that Dax has two children who are considered immediate relatives, so any monetary compensation would be for them. How is that fair Justice Donald Trotman?
The Honourable David Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana; Mr Joseph Harmon, Director General; Mr Basil Williams, Attorney General; Mr Winston Jordan, Minister of Finance, considering the circumstances of this case, what about an exception to the rules, and discretion? What about us? What about the emotional turmoil and financial losses we have endured over these last 11 long and difficult years? No justice, no closure, no restitution. This is an outrage!
The least that we could have been afforded was the Death Certificates, which most of the families have been trying to obtain for years. The Arokiums and the other family members deserve better. The Guyanese people deserve more for their $100 million tax dollars; they too deserve to know who these murderers are. These culprits are living among us and are walking around freely.
Who are these killers? Who spearheaded the cover-up? Was anyone held accountable? Was anyone imprisoned? Was anyone even exposed? Was anyone fired? Is this just another cover-up? Is this administration any better than the previous administration? Is this what you call justice?
This is not all about the compensation; it is about fairness, empathy, respect and principle! It would have hurt less had this administration not pretended to care. Every time we see a glimmer of hope, every time we feel like we are being lifted out of the mud, we are dropped even harder.
Dax Arokium, you were a stalwart, a true soldier, and we truly miss you. You were a great example of what a Guyanese youth should be, and even though your government has failed you and you never received the justice that you so deserve, we, your siblings, your mum and your dad will always love you and cherish all the memories we shared together. Sleep in peace our love, until we meet again.
Mr President, you have the power to ensure that we have a better outcome in this case. Please re-examine the findings of this report, and please let fairness prevail. This does not feel like justice for our family. Please, we need some closure.
This letter is not for Mr Jagdeo and the PPP to use for political gain. They played a huge part in this cover-up and in all fairness, should have all been exposed and held responsible.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
