This week we sought the views of members of the public about the Lusignan and Bartica murders and what they think the government can do about the situation. We got the following responses:
Ghodrall Andrew, taxi driver – ‘I think the people need to turn to God and serve him more in spirit and in truth. This country as well as the people from the top right down to the bottom need prayers. I think we should have more love in our hearts. Most of all I think the government should stop molesting the Buxtonians because the criminals are all over the place. We definitely need more help from overseas. The government should put more specialized equipment in the force to fight crime.’
Joel Moore, taxi driver – ‘The first thing the government has to do is get to the root of the matter to know who is behind all this killing. That is the only way they can solve the problem. So many people are being killed and that is not good. Human beings are precious resources and if we keep losing like a dozen every other week the country would be at a loss. At this time Guyanese need to come together and the two major parties need to stop pointing fingers at each other. I don’t think we should look for overseas help. I feel we have enough qualified people in the military to handle the situation as well as ex-army and police personnel who can assist and give advice. The true findings should be brought forth, though.’
Rebecca Lewis, food and beverage worker – ‘This incident has left everyone in the country very scared and I am wondering how long more this would go on. Leaders of the opposition should come together and see what can be done to help the people. I think we need assistance from overseas because we are not equipped to deal with the situation. In other countries the men would have been caught already. The force needs to be properly trained to track down the criminals. I think if proper actions were taken to bring the criminals to justice after the first incident, the second massacre would have been prevented.’
Sunil, minibus conductor – ‘I feel if these brutal slayings continue like this by half of next year we wouldn’t have people living here. The situation is serious and we need the government to look into it and take the necessary steps urgently to protect the people. I think the country needs better security and the force needs to do more to capture the criminals. We badly need the overseas help because even though they have so many people in the force, up to now they cannot find a few criminals. Finally I think the police should stop locking up bus drivers and conductors for simple offences and concentrate on locking up the criminals.’
Jaswantie Madhu, housewife – ‘The army and the police force so big and they allow a group of gunmen to rule this country and kill people as they feel and then get away with it. They cannot find them as yet but I know they charge one man but they are not sure if it is him. The force needs to respond quickly when they get calls but they take too long and arrive at crime scenes long after the criminals escape. With the Lusignan incident if they had gone when the shooting start they would have prevented so many people from dying. Government needs to seek more help from overseas to bring these ruthless killings to a stop. The criminals have the type of guns that the force is supposed to have. That is why the ranks are afraid to face the criminals. Government has to give the force better weapons but they would need to secure them [weapons] because suddenly you hear they disappear.’
Rameshwar Singh, agronomy hand – ‘First of all I think it is good that the government is getting help from overseas and I think they should take it. Right now I see the PNC is walking out when the government has discussions on the issue. They are the main opposition and they should back the government; they cannot just put all the pressure on the government. I also think the force should be better equipped in the fight against crime.’
Diaram, joiner – ‘I think the government should bring in the overseas help because the situation is getting worse. The massacre is driving a lot fear in people all over and government should take urgent action. It is a shame that the criminals have better guns than the police. The government need to upgrade the guns that the force is using because to me those guns are outdated. To me other people should also be given guns so that they can protect themselves.’
Debra Doobay, housewife – ‘The people need more protection from the police force because right now people are not feeling safe. With all that is going on you cannot walk the streets freely. The overseas help is also welcomed. I would like to know why they [criminals] are killing people; we are not getting a proper answer. Government needs to do some investigations on how the criminals get the guns. They need to do the investigations in the right manner; they just cannot hold people wrongfully. They need to get the right people but I know that is hard. They need to improve the Community Policing Groups more and have their presence in every area. Getting the helicopter is also a good idea but it should not only be used when a crime occurs but to carry out patrols so the criminals would know that security is available.’
Nita Bernard, housewife – ‘I think the police need to respond faster because normally they reach the crime scene more than one hour late. With all these killings in the two areas I think the government needs to take all the assistance from overseas. It is sad how so many innocent people are killed while the criminals are allowed to get away with it. We cannot afford to lose more lives while the government is trying to figure out how to handle the situation. The criminals must be brought to justice quickly. There should be more security at the border crossings to prevent these high powered weapons from entering the country. The criminals lessen the weapons in the country by removing those from the Bartica station and the army and add more to do their massacre.’
Michael Persaud, social activist – ‘The situation is very dangerous and the government is not taking any steps to bring all the people together. The killings have caused confusion and general fear in society because people do not know who next would be killed. People need protection and the security forces need to be deployed to the communities to work closely with the people in defence of themselves. Government needs to deal with the real cause of the problem and that is social and economic issues that have affected the poorer class of people. They need to take the opposition really seriously and come up with a common programme for the general upliftment of the country. We welcome all technical personnel and help that are necessary to protect people and to hunt down those who are bent on creating terror.’
