Dear Janelly David, I am sorry..

 

Dear Janelly David,

I am sorry we , your nation,  your community, other men around you could not stop the man from killing you. You are 16 years old and many people hope that 16 years old would be close to completing school. I am sorry that we could not make things good for you to be in school. What dreams did you have? What did you like to do? What did you want for yourself? What did you want to be when you grew up?

 

I am sorry that if you were experiencing problems, that we did not do enough to make sure that you knew how to be in a good relationship, and where to get help if things went bad.

 

I am sorry, that even though you are living in a place with a lot of gold, and a lot of oil, that the man killed you.

 

Did you know about the One Guyana Ministerial Task Force which was set up to tackle the "social ills" , which resulted in the man killing you? Did you feel a part of President Ali's One Guyana, living in the mining camp? 

The Village Councils have given permission for us and others to do work so that no man should abuse or kill any girl or anyone else. There are laws in place 

When I received permission to be in Baramita, I tried to find out how to do the work effectively. I am not Indigenous, I do not speak Karinya and I do not know anything about gold mining and I am Hindu, not a Jehovah Witness. I understand that many of the community members are Jehovah Witnesses and that it is the organisation with the widest community reach .

 I am sorry that the leaders of the Watchtower Society do not engage with outsiders like me to help to spread messages about where you could have gotten help or to encourage others to report.

 

I am sorry that when we hear of a rich community in a rich nation, that the history in Guyana and of the lands resulted in you lying in that hammock , a child, while a 40 year old man thought he owned you and could kill you. I am sorry that in Guyana, on the coastlands and other places, children find themselves with men who they have to call 'boyfriend' and 'husband' and so, and that they do not want to report them. I am sorry that the children get blamed and are told 'dem hot'.

I am sorry that I did not know enough about how to work the Baramita Line, so that maybe you could have heard something and told someone if you were having problems in the relationship. 

 

Every time I have visited Baramita, we hear the stories of the poverty, the problems, the turbo mixed with high wine, the deaths by suicide. I am sorry that I could not do like the brothers from the Watchtower Society and take time to learn Karinya. 

I met people who want to help but who also have their own problems to deal with. 

 

I am sorry that the Government does not want to pay people to do the social work which the community has asked for. Were you there in the mining camp before you turned 16? 

 

I am sorry that the economy is such that everybody hears about men having relationships with children but nobody can't do anything about it because who will feed the children and their families.

I am sorry that other men who are looking for gold could not stop this man from abusing you or killing you. 

 

I am sorry that even though the man who killed you might be found and charged, that there are other men who will continue to abuse women and girls.

 

We hear Gold is doing well in Guyana and Guyana on transformation and so, but I am so sorry that Gold and transformation did not do well for you. 

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Image  by David Tomaseti on Unsplash