Pastors defend ‘exorcism,’ deny beatings

-girl suffered from tuberculosis

Church leaders yesterday maintained that Sangeeta Persaud, the 14-year-old who died following an exorcism last month, was demon-possessed, while her mother disclosed that the girl suffered from tuberculosis.

Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) Juan Edghill called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Persaud’s death, while joining the pastors who performed the exorcism in criticising media coverage of the incident and threatening lawsuits. Edghill, also a church pastor, said Persaud’s death was “regrettable.”

“I think what has happened is that we’ve had a few people who have made a big noise over a matter that should have never gone the way it went,” he said, while adding that in every religion prayers for the sick and persons who are afflicted or affected by evil, occurs. “This was just another case of prayers being made for a child that was seemingly afflicted by evil. It is regrettable that the end of that process, when she would have gone to the hospital, she eventually died,” he said.

Finally facing reporters, Ewert Cummings and Pastor Gulab, at a press conference at the ERC boardroom yesterday, defended their actions and said what Persaud’s grandmother, Chaitranie Ramotar told the press, including Stabroek News, was inaccurate. Edghill as well as Persaud’s mother, Nandkumarie Jaikissoon, her stepfather and another relative were also present at the news conference.

Edghill said it became necessary to bring to public attention the “facts” surrounding Persaud’s death, to deal with the disquiet that has erupted, the seeming vilification of a religious group, particularly the pastor, and “to correct a number of inaccuracies that have been reported in the media.” He said he was contacted by colleagues in the Christian community to address the matter. Edghill told reporters that on Wednesday, he visited Canal Number Two, where the ‘exorcism’ took place, and spoke to relatives, the pastors, neighbours and members of the Christ Ambassadors Church, in whose building the exorcism took place.  Having done this, he said there are a number of things to be clarified.

According to Edghill, Jaikissoon is a practicing member of the church and has received spiritual help as it relates to demonic problems she suffered from and it was with this in mind that when Persaud “showed certain manifestations,” she sought the help of the church. At no time did the pastor or the church impose their belief or practice on her and she sought the help of the church on her own accord, he said. At all times, while prayers were being said for Persaud, her mother and Ramotar were present, he added. According to him, Ramotar had told him that Cummings had ministered and prayed for her several times when she had problems.

Edghill declared that at no time was physical force or violence used to extract any spirit from the 14-year-old girl. Since the incident, he said, Cummings has been under tremendous pressure to even continue his ministry in the area even though more than 90% of church members have affirmed their confidence in him as a pastor. “It is my hope that as a result of today’s media briefing and interaction with these the family as well as the pastors would lend to create a new environment that the sensationalism that this particular matter has attracted that have even led to the vilification of a particular religious group would come to an end and that the truth would come out,” he said.

‘Nobody beat her, nobody do her nothing’

Relating her version of that day’s events, Jaikissoon said that she left her Westminister home to go to church at about 8:45am and shortly after received a call informing her that something was wrong with Persaud. She said she returned home to collect money in case she needed to carry her daughter to the hospital. However, she was unable to get transportation and began to walk to Cumming’s home in Parfait Harmonie.  She said that Ramotar told her to bring the Pastor because Persaud was demon possessed.

Jaikissoon said that they arrived at Canal Number Two at 9:35am and he went into the church while she went to Ramotar’s home. She said that Ramotar told her that Persaud had drunk half a cup of tea and started to scream and kick “as if she was demon possessed.” Cummings was called. “He pray for her and she was behaving like if she demon possess foh truth,” said Jaikissoon. She said that her daughter was taken to church at around midday and while they prayed, Persaud started to behave like an animal. “Nobody beat her, nobody do her nothing. She was lying there and everybody was praying. There was the grandmother, me, the pastor, two wives, more members was there praying for her and then she just deh like if she sleeping normal,” recalled the woman. She said that they thought she had gotten weak and carried her to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

Jaikissoon said Persaud was given saline and injections and she was asked if she was certain if it was only tea that the girl drank.  “She was there just breathing normal…they say the ain know what happen to her,” the woman related. The doctors planned to transfer her to the Georgetown Public Hospital and she was given two additional injections, Jaikissoon said. After that she said, her spirit told her that Persaud was not breathing and the doctors were called. “When they come they tell me look, she is breathing but I could see she na tek no other breath after this two injection,” she continued. She said that she was sent outside but observed as oxygen was administered to Persaud and saw the hospital staff “pressing her, wringing her nipple and all these things.” “When they catch me peeping they just tell me come and see your daughter die,” she said.

Prodded by Edghill, Jaikissoon restated that Persaud was not “beaten.” She said she was the one who changed her daughter’s clothes and took her to the hospital. She said newspaper reports were not true and Persaud was not bleeding when she was taken to the hospital.

‘I saw her squeal like a pig, I saw her face turn to like a monkey’

Meanwhile, Cummings said that what was reported in the media was “very demeaning and degrading and it upset me a lot.” He recalled being contacted by this newspaper and refusing to comment. He recalled Jaikissoon calling him and telling her go right away. But, he said, she ended up at him since she was getting no transportation and since he had to pick up other church members it took a while to reach Canal Number Two.

While at church, he said, a relative of Jaikissoon’s came to get him and he went to pray for Persaud who was acting funny. “I saw her squeal like a pig, I saw her face turn to like a monkey, her eyes, her mouth,” he said. “I act according to what I believe, the bible says if there is anybody sick then they should send for the elders of the church and the elders should come and pray for them and use oil and anoint them and if they commit any sin, the sin shall be forgiven. So I did that…I just put some oil in her forehead,” he continued.

He said they later agreed to carry Persaud to church and he called Pastor Gulab. “Since Pastor Gulab saw the girl he knew right away that this girl had a demonic problem because this is something that he normally deals with all over Guyana,” said Cummings. He said they prayed. “We don’t beat nobody. We don’t squeeze no lime and give nobody. I did not give her lime neither did the other pastor give her lime,” said Cummings.  He said after Persaud a while calmed but was not responding to voices. “I said look we need to take this girl to the hospital. I recommended it and I took her myself to the hospital. I stayed with them until this girl died”, he said.

Persaud’s stepfather said she was living with her grandmother in order to go to school. He said that Jaikissoon provides for her and whenever she goes to church, three times weekly, they communicate. He accused Ramotar of having a boy visit Persaud and she washing and cooking for him. According to him, they learnt of this after the girl’s death. “I think she used to receive some money from this boy cause lately she used to start buying gifts for the grandmother, the mother and even the pastor,” he said. “I ain’t know if she and the boy had any relationship or what,” he said adding that Ramotar was aware of the money.

Responding to questions, Cummings said that he prayed for Persaud from around 10:30 and continued until about 3 or 4 pm.  “When you are dealing with the demon case there is no timeframe,” he said. Edghill added that on Thursday he prayed for a demon-possessed woman from Leonora for about an hour and a half. “It is not unusual for prayers to be said for extended periods for somebody who is demon possessed,” he said. Asked if Ramotar was lying in what she told the media, he responded “you need to visit the evidence.”

‘TB diagnosis’

The pastor said it hurt him that Persaud died because she was like his daughter. “It wasn’t my decision to take her to the doctor. It was the parents, who was there, who was responsible for the child to say let us take her to the doctor even before I got there but I was the one that recommended it and did it if you need to know,” he said.

Asked if indeed Persaud was demon-possessed, why she wasn’t healed with prayers, he responded that sometimes if there is no information as to what might cause a person to be in this state, sometimes it creates a barrier.

Jaikissoon later said that Persaud was “exposed to the germs” that causes tuberculosis. She said that it was never diagnosed until she was carried to the chest clinic. On March 4, she said, she received a call from the Medex in Canal Number Two telling her that the next day she must carry her daughter to the clinic. There, she said, personnel took cold samples and an x-ray. On March 8, she returned to give another sample and on March 15, they returned for the results and it was then she learnt that her daughter had tuberculosis, Jaikissoon said. She said that the personnel took another blood sample and they were supposed to return on April 19 for the results. She said she could not say whether her daughter’s death was caused by illness or a demon.

Edghill said that Cummings was not allowed to go to his church for Good Friday or Easter Sunday because of threats from residents. “We don’t want to make this more inflammatory but the reality is Pastor Cummings is an Afro-Guyanese, his wife is an Indian and all of his members of his church are Indians. He is the only African in the church in Canal Number Two,” he said.

According to Edghill, there are those in the community who were prepared to use this incident to their own advantage “because obviously there is some annoyance and discomfort with people converting to Christianity in the community, which is the right of anybody once people are not force or coerced and I found it very amusing that even some of our more learned and enlightened Guyanese would have taken the opportunity to write to vilify a sect saying people taking advantage of people’s poverty.”

He said if people embrace Christianity as their choice, other members of the community have no right to use and escalate a matter to impose sanctions to get this pastor out. He said he had committed to speak to pastors in the area about some remarks made during crusades that some felt were demeaning to Hindus.

Asked whether persons should have some sort of knowledge or qualifications to perform exorcisms, Edghill responded that “the Bible teaches these signs shall follow them that believe in my name you shall cast out devils. Casting out of evil spirits in Christianity is not just for pastors. It’s for every person who believe,” he asserted.  “What we are hearing is a young child on a Sunday morning is having certain manifestations, barking like a dog, going like a pig, crying out and screaming and yelling,” he said adding that the family has received personal benefit from prayer and all they did was seek help for the child who unfortunately died at the hospital while receiving medical attention.

He questioned whether anyone asked if the child had received some wrong treatment at the hospital that led to her death, saying that the focus was on the church. “Everyday in mandirs, masjids and in churches Guyanese are people of faith, take their relatives there for prayer to relieve from evil spirits, from sicknesses and disease. It’s an everyday practice all across Guyana and it’s not limited to any sect that is taking advantage of poor people in Guyana,” he asserted.

“There should be a thorough investigation as it relates to all the circumstances surrounding the death of the child,” he continued. “Before we cast blame and make conclusions based upon somebody’s narrow beliefs, let’s have a full understanding because we’re hearing these things.”

Cummings said that he had performed exorcisms before on other members of the same family. He said he had helped Persaud and her grandmother, constructing a bathroom for them and “straightened” up the house. Edghill said coming out of lessons learned in this matter, responsible adults including religious leaders must make responsible choices and act responsibly in the interest of the welfare of the society.