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Loud wailing and anger engulfed the Christiansburg Community Centre Ground on Saturday afternoon, where the funeral service of the late 21-year-old Shonnette Dover, was held.
Despite intermittent showers, scores of persons, many of whom journeyed from afar, joined relatives and friends of the young woman, who was murdered by her boyfriend to bid her farewell. Despite her casket remained closed because of her decomposed state, inconsolable family members and friends banged on it, as they screamed for justice. The relatives were clad in red jerseys which represented bloodshed and wailed throughout the procession that justice must be served.
The atmosphere was sombre and poignant, for there was barely a dry eye, as persons from all walks of life attended the funeral to pay their last respects. The story of Shonnette Dover touched the lives of many both in Guyana and the diaspora and sent shockwaves throughout the Linden community.
Dover’s paternal grandmother expressed how much it hurts, to bury her granddaughter but said all is not lost, since justice must be served. “It is indeed a grievous afternoon, today is hurts deeply to see what went wrong, but the good Lord will give us justice, I stand for justice, God will give us the strength. What so ever a man soweth he shall reap and God will take full control, may her soul rest in peace,” she said.
Her cousin, expressed how painful it is to bury a family member, who had just begun to live. “Shonnette was very loved by us and to see her go down like this, is it really hard for us to make it but we are trying to make it with the help of the Lord. It hurts so much and even as I stand here, we are saying we need justice and justice we must get for our loved one that is gone, she is gone too soon.”
In the eulogy, Shonnette was described as a talented, unique, fashionable and loving young woman, who after completing her secondary education at the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School, went straight into the world of work. She had landed a job at the Watooka Guest House, before moving to the New-Tech Snackette. Her boss at New-Tech described her as a respectable and ingenious young woman, who got along with everyone. She was always dressed neatly and took pride in the way she carried herself. “She was a fashionable young woman, loved to design hair, she was a talent person, she enjoyed designing her sister’s and family hair. She was soft spoken, unique and loving, oh what a beauty, she was a queen, natural beauty,” said her relative who eulogised her.
In his sermon, Paster Andrew Marks, prayed that the family be comforted at this sad time and he urged the residents of Linden to use this incident to unite and to look out for each other. “I want to challenge you today, let us be our brother’s keeper, let us be our sister’s keeper, let us be people who will bare each other up instead of tearing each other down, I want to challenge you today, this situation must cause every community in Linden to come together, I’m talking about the villages, whether you from Christianburg, whether you from Blue Berry Hill, whether you from Canvas City, this incident must cause people to recognise that this situation must not happen in our community, neither in our town again,” he said.
Dover was reported missing on Sunday April 4th by the very same boyfriend who told her relatives that Shonnette’s little sister who stayed with them, was the last person to see her before she left for work. The 15-year-old relative has since been charged with accessory after the fact of murder and was remanded to the Juvenile Detention Centre. A post mortem examination conducted, found that she died from a single gun shot wound to her head.
