The blame for the lack of progress in the Henry murders ought not to be placed singularly at the feet of the state. The nature, context and scope of these macabre executions, renders the entire Guyana society culpable in the face of this becoming another cold case. The reason being, the crucifixion of these teenagers cannot be relegated to the column of the run of the mill murders or even extra-judicial killings, as egregious as they remain. The impalement which visited the community of Cotton Tree in September is notorious as any ethnically and tribally driven termination of lives, the likes of which threaten to disintegrate the social cohesion of an average society. As a consequence, it behooves all and sundry to marshal efforts, both individually and collectively to ensure justice is served in this instance. Since this is not being done and this case. It threatens to become yet another cold case consigned to the dusty drawers of the Criminal Investigation Department, we must all hang our heads in shame.
THE PEOPLE
We, the people, must receive the brunt of castigation in this regard. Every hour and every second where there is no arrest or movement to provide justice to the families, he/she who sleeps comfortably through the Guyana nights with their conscience being unbothered by this tragedy, must accept blame for the state of affairs. How do you stop the abuse of power? How do you stop injustice from being meted out to the powerless by the powerful? How do you get the attention of the world and bring pressure to bear on entrenched power? The answer to all of the above is ‘the people’ and insofar as injustice reigns, the souls of the people are dead. As a consequence, when one examines the lack of political will at the highest level of the state apparatus vis-à-vis the investigation into the Henry murders, it is the people who must also look into the mirror and also accept responsibility.
Civil Society
Apart from a few facetious statements, the Guyana civil society has not demonstrated the alarm and concern that ought to be consistent with such dastardly national development. The response has been woefully lacking and certainly lends credence to the conclusion which asserts the ethnicity of these boys being key to the lack of interest. The opera silence from the organizations such as community groups, non-governmental organizations, labor unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations and foundations, teems with much danger for the Guyana society. Civil society is academically labeled as the ‘third sector’ of society, expected to pull the levers alongside government and the business community.
THE STATE
It is well established and well known, once the state has a burning interest in solving a crime, it is solved with efficiency and in a short period. Once an investigation is lagging, the lack of evidence could be the cause but most notably, it is often due to the lack of political will. In the absence of expert knowledge in the field of hate crimes and murder investigations, it is reasonable to conclude that in a communal context, it is difficult to imagine this would not be an open and shut case. The murder of two teenagers in hate crime fashion with symbols being inflicted has to be a communal effort and therefore, an investigation should be fraught with little difficulty. The state has no interest.
If the Henry murders are not solved, we should ban the phrase national reconciliation.
