Dear Editor,
When no scientific explanation can provide reasonable answers to common sense questions, inevitably people will have to seek answers from mystical sources.
Guyana is in a profound state of shock and disbelief after the pronouncement of the forensic scientists had created more smoke rather than shine any light on what caused the death of the child. Death by “drowning” is not a rational finding if it is intended to offer a meaningful answer as to whether a crime has been committed or not, in the death of the child.
President Irfan Ali, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, and the PPP chorus all sang in unison in the aftermath of the medical report. All three of them began with the extremely important credentials of the forensic scientists who conducted the examination of the child’ body. All three of them interpreted the finding of “drowning, as if the child had accidentally drowned. All three of them treated the matter as settled, and what was needed was new SOPs and protocols to prevent such unfortunate incidents.
But they did not stop there!
They went on to promise that anyone and everyone engaged in acts of terrorism, directly and indirectly, will be prosecuted. All video footage would be used to identify and arrest persons involved in “terrorist” activities. At the time of writing, persons were already being rounded up by the police. The reign of terror had begun.
In effect, the PPP had moved past Adriana’s “unfortunate” death. The spontaneous outbursts of emotion that manifested itself as tire burnings and street protests along with other random activities were now the primary focus. The opposition was responsible for this, and the matter was now political and criminal. It was the duty of the state to maintain law and order.
The PPP was now concerned with the massive turnout that would be present at the funeral of Adriana, and the mobilisation of the security forces to maintain law and order. The President, VP, and AG shifted their focus to elections, political power, and terrorists and extremists, revealing their obsession with power and the containment of the opposition. The theme of “centrally directed” was used, suggesting that the opposition was planning the removal of the PPP regime. The unfortunate circumstances of the girl’s death was now the pretext for mobilizing support against the government. The PPP regime would bring the full resources of the state to stop all protests. A curfew was put into place.
The PPP bigwigs missed the critical moment. Had they shown just one ounce of humanity for a fleeting moment regarding the tragic loss of life of an innocent child, they might have redeemed themselves by seeking to calm the anger and heal the hurt of the nation in face of the tragedy. But they missed the moment. They wanted to put the matter behind them and move on, in the most obscene manner. In that brief moment of civil resistance, they recognised the mood of the African Race, and it triggered a panic. And in panic, they have resorted with terrorism to African resistance to repression.
The rulers never for a moment considered the righteousness of that anger, treating it as “biological atavism”, the PPP’s philosophical understanding of African rebellion at injustices. Had the PPP, in that flash of insight, considered that the African masses were expressing their humanity at the inhumanity done to that little angel, it might have seized the moment and grieved with the nation. Its bestiality could not allow it to acknowledge the humanity of the oppressed.
It has now set the stage for confrontation.
Yours truly,
Rohit Kanhai
