It was an emotional Sunday for thousands of Guyanese as Joel and Isaiah Henry, the two teen boys who were slaughtered in Berbice, were laid to rest.
Scores of people came out at the Parade Ground on Sunday morning to the celebration service, clad in black, white and red, and for some, branded t-shirts with illustrations of the two boys, to pay their tribute to the fallen youths.
Waves of emotions flowed through the mammoth crowd as they wailed and cried for justice to be served.
The ceremony was themed “Forging a road to peace, through equal rights and justice”. Several of the keynote speakers, while reflecting on the life of the boys, called for an end to such crimes and barbarism in Guyana.
Former Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, who is the cousin of the dead teens, said that the death of her relatives is one example of how brutal and evil the Guyanese society can be.
Hundreds paid their final respects to the late Joel and Isaiah Henry- two teenaged cousins who were found slaughtered in the Cotton Tree Village West Coast #Berbice backdam one week ago. #Guyana pic.twitter.com/INk3iu8dMp
— Village Voice Gy (@villagevoicegy) September 13, 2020
“It is a frightening reminder of the prejudice and inequalities that exist here in Guyana. And if you think otherwise you have probably already lost touch of reality. Prejudice and inequalities are real issues that have to be dealt with because they cannot just go away. It requires real and genuine actions by each and everyone of us as Guyanese, Henry said.
She reflected on the pleasant memories they, the family have with Joel and Isaiah, pointing out that “They both loved music as much as they loved life. And if you know anything about them, they would sing their hearts out to entertain the family, especially their mothers.”
“Their deaths cannot be in vain,” Henry charged.
“No one has been charged as yet for these gruesome crimes. We the family, all we’re asking for, is justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. What happened to Joel and Isaiah should not happen to any other child in this country. Their deaths have served to a call for action because people believe enough is enough. And that is why we have had protest action.”
The former minister also disclosed that the family feels more pain, when the tragedy is used to drive personal agendas.
“A lot people have been irresponsible in their actions or utterances on this tragedy. Everytime we see something that is misconstrued, or hear an inflammatory statement, or experience an opportunist action driven primarily by self interest motive, emanated from this tragedy, it opens fresh wounds. In fact, it feels like another chop and another blow that was dealt to Joel and Isaiah,” Henry said as she struggled to hold back her tears.
Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine said that today is a dark day in the history of the country, as thousands are heart broken at the reality that the two teens will never get the chance to grow into young men.
“They will never get to realise their potential. To lose two young children in such a gruesome way is unfortunate and unacceptable. I pray in due time we will get the answers we are desperately seeking,” Narine said in his call for all responsible to be held accountable.
Making his revolutionary remarks, Attorney for the Henry family, Nigel Hughes said that state of the country was a collective effort, and it will require the same collective effort to get the change that is needed.
“The murders of Joel, Isaiah and Haresh did not occur in a vacuum and the reaction to their awful, brutal, deaths did not occur without context. We collectively have all contributed to the creation of the horribly deformed society we call Guyana, which has enabled the perpetrators of these gruesome murders, to feel sufficiently secure that they could engage in such acts of barbarity. We have an aspirational National Motto which says one people, one nation, one destiny, yet in our daily collective lives, and certainly at every election cycle, we abandon any notion of our commitment to our national motto,” Hughes preached.
In saying that, he underscored that it will require the leaders to acknowledge the crisis and recognise the role in which they play, to ensure equal rights and justice is a norm in society.
Further, Trade Unionist, Lincoln Lewis emphasised that Guyana is not a barbaric State.
“We are not operating in ancient times. The responsibility of legal justice in a civilised society, falls primarily under the various arms of this State and today, it is to them we look as we call on them, rightly so, to spare no resource in ensuring all reasonable efforts are made to bring legal justice to Joel and Isaiah. Grant them the peace they were denied in the last few moments of their lives,” he said.
Several other speakers, including Vincent Alexander, Apostle Elsworth Williams, and more, all reiterated how gruesome the killings were and that actions must be taken to ensure that there isn’t recurrence, especially with the nation’s youths.
The scores of people dispersed and went into various modes of transportation, and traveled to Berbice for a second ceremony and the eventual burial of Isaiah and Joel.
