Dear Editor,
We need to promote our people’s Indigenous culture, language, and traditions. We also embrace progressive initiatives such as ecotourism, modern sports facilities, education, and other significant advancements in our communities. We must ensure that we are not overlooked or forgotten by the central government.
While these developments in our communities are beneficial, not everything in our villages is positive. Many of our people, particularly the men, are struggling with alcohol abuse. It appears that most of us lack the self-control to know when to stop, often failing to say, “I’ve had enough; it’s time to go home to my family and children.” Unfortunately, this issue has led to negative consequences, including violence, with instances of stabbings, and even a tragic case where a woman murdered her child without mercy in her village.
The other evil is that underage girls are being exploited sexually by their uncles and close male family predators in villages across Guyana. And these are being hidden most of the time by parents and family members who don’t want their relatives to go to prison. In North Rupununi there has been sexual molestation of a four-year-old girl child by a mentally challenged man and the raping of a thirteen years old female student in South Pakaraimas. All of these evils happening to our young girls should be stopped by our people, organizing ourselves to denounce all wrongdoings.
Editor, these crimes are getting out of control, and we cannot stand by and see victims suffer from these evil acts and do nothing.
To address these social issues in communities, here are some practical suggestions to help curb alcohol abuse by men and control family members or other predators impregnating young Indigenous girls in villages.
- Reenforced the law of alcohol in Indigenous communities and imposed a fine on those who sell it without a license in villages.
- We need to stop protecting our uncles, fathers, and those in authority who are placed in trust of our young teenagers. There is a need to let the victims break the silence and make examples of sex offenders in our villages by jailing them, including parents who can’t monitor and supervise their young daughters’ whereabouts, which contributes to underage girls being impregnated in villages.
- Advocate for professional intervention for both the victim and the perpetrator, which has long been lacking in the hinterland regions.
Yours truly,
Mark Anthony Rodrigues is the president of the Guyana Indigenous Peoples Movement.
Medino Abraham, Social Justice Activist and Researcher on Indigenous People in Guyana
Carl Phenuex, Advocate for Indigenous Rights and Justice in Guyana.
