Dear Editor,
On Easter Sunday at about 8.25 hrs, while walking south along Cummings Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, my life changed forever.
There was a time when I questioned the gunning down of young African males most of whom were accused by the police of having guns in their possession or discharging rounds at the police before being shot. If anyone had told me that this staunch defender of Africans in Guyana would be the subject of a stick-up, I would have said it was impossible. After that experience of having two guns pulled at me while being robbed, I have come to the conclusion that the police in Guyana are more often right than wrong.
As my wife and I passed Second and Cummings Street, Alberttown, two young African males greeted us with a good night, I did not respond but she did only to be greeted with “Don’t make a ‘f’…ing move give me all yugat.”
Sensing danger while we were stopped and seeing one of the gunmen go to his waist, I whispered to my wife that this is a stick-up. I quietly told her to run which she did only to stumble, falling heavily not so far away.
At that time I shouted for help but to no avail. It was at this shout that one of the two gunmen wearing a white hair cap, pulled the trigger twice as the gun snapped. For a brief moment I froze but was brought back to reality in a split second when the shorter one whipped out his gun and pointed same at me.
Could I have done anything at that point? No! I simply put my hands up telling them that I gave up. “Take what you want.” They took my jewellery, wallet containing a substantial sum of local and foreign currency, two cell phones and all the money I had in the other pocket.The irony of this situation is that the robbery took place in the full view of residents of Alberttown who did nothing to help – this I fully understand as they must have feared for their own lives. Yet they could not be worse off than me as I stared death down the barrel of the .32 aimed and fired twice at my chest. By the help of my creator, not a single bullet existed in the gun. “Oh God how great and wondrous are your works.” At least I live to tell my story and hopefully would live many more years to see my children to ripe, mature years.
While all this happened my wife had sought refuge in some bushes in a yard in front of where the robbery took place. For that reason I did not try to resist the two murderers who clearly intended to take my life for what was rightfully my possessions. If I had managed to evade the gunman I knew not what would have happened to her so I stood there, faced these two criminals and paid a ransom for my life.
Earlier in the day I attended service at the Jesus is the Answer Ministry on Second Street Alberttown. I took communion and Pastor prayed for us at an altar call. I paid my tithe and planted a seed. I believe that Almighty God found favour with my offering because I am alive today to tell all that the gun snapped, thank God.
I urge my fellow citizens not to walk with too much on the road but then again if I didn’t have some possessions what then? These chaps clearly have criminal intent so the police force, aided by the very government which shielded many during the crime wave a few years ago, must now work to restore peace and stability to our streets because the government lacks credibility in this regard.
It would be extremely difficult for them to fight crime successfully without the PNC murmuring that only African youths are being slaughtered. I guess Messrs Corbin and others in the PNC have never shared my experience since they don’t walk the streets as I do. They are in no position to tell me who’s a criminal and who is not since every youth is now a suspect as far as I am concerned.
I reported the matter to the Alberttown police station but like everything else I know nothing would come of that report. Today I live with the echo of that gun in my brain and I still do not sleep comfortably.
As a God fearing man I have moved on but for me life has changed forever as I believe that these barefaced criminals will not rest until they are victims of the police guns at which point their defenders will speak out of the injustice meted out to men who are innocent until executed. I hope every law abiding citizen understands my experience and stops supporting those lawyers and politicians who defend these criminals. This is the reason I proposed the death penalty reintroduction at the 2006 polls. Without this as a deterrent many more lives would be lost to gun-toting bandits as the Brazilians found out this week.
Yours faithfully,
A. Malek Abubekr Cave
Liberal Democrats
