At 16 years old, Neesa Lalita Gopaul who should have been at this moment involved in preparing school-based assignments ahead of writing the Caribbean Secondary Certificate Examination next year, is dead. Obviously, she was brutally murdered; her body was found in a suitcase that was weighted and tossed into the Madewini Creek near the rundown, closed-up resort, Emerald Tower on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. From reports that have been emerging since the discovery of Neesa’s body her life was just as brutal; probably even viler than her death. The adults who collectively were responsible for ensuring her well-being have failed miserably and must be brought to task.
Neesa’s primary caregiver was her mother, who, at the very least ought to face charges of child endangerment and neglect, not only as regards Neesa, but her younger surviving daughter as well. It must be stated here also that if our reactive social services officers have not yet done so they must take immediate action in the case of this younger daughter. And if investigations reveal that Neesa’s mother might be culpable beyond turning a blind eye to her children’s abuse, then she must not be spared the appropriate charges.
Neesa’s other relatives too, owed her more than an ear and perfunctory reports to the authorities. There were so many signs that this child’s life was being destroyed. Numerous allegations are now being made based on what relatives claimed she told them while still alive. Where was the outpouring of support she so obviously needed while still alive? This young teenager quite likely died a thousand times over, mentally, spiritually and emotionally before her physical life was eventually snuffed out.
Teachers at her school and persons in her home community would have seen signs that something was desperately wrong; even if it were just the fact that a bright, promising student had suddenly dropped back and then had left school altogether. Did no one question this? Was there no teacher caring enough to ensure that this child’s sudden disappearance from school was investigated by education welfare officers? Was there no one in her residential community who questioned why she had stopped attending school at such a crucial juncture?
The relatives who cared, did make reports to the authorities. Officials at the Ministry of Human Services, we were told, were cognizant of the abuse. At some juncture, it must have been taken seriously as Neesa was removed from her mother’s care at one point and handed over to her grandparents. The question which now arises is where was the follow-up? Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand has now come out and said that officers of her ministry, under which the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) falls, failed to do follow-up. Child care officers ought to have been counselling this abused teen. This is what their handbook on child protection says; this is what they claim to do in these cases. So what happened to Neesa? How were they seemingly unaware that she had been taken back into the environment where the abuse occurred? Who was the officer assigned to Neesa’s case and what explanation does s/he offer for this gross slip-up?
It has to be noted that all of the cases of child rescue in which the CCPA triumphantly toots its own horn, the child/children at risk are living in impoverished conditions. Was Neesa allowed to slip through the cracks because it appeared that economically she was better off than the preconceived notion of what an abused child should look like? Is the CCPA aware that child abuse transcends financial status? The picture of Neesa Lalita Gopaul which emerges from the various accounts of her short, wretched life is an image of the poster child for abuse.
The police, it was also revealed, were appealed to when reports of assault and abuse perpetrated against Neesa were made several months ago and a man was charged. However, the child later withdrew her statement and it would appear that no investigation was done to ascertain whether she had done so under duress.
All-in-all this was a collective failure by almost every individual and all the agencies concerned. Neesa’s tortured life and death have exposed the humungous deficiencies in a system which officials claim works. It does not. If it did, the several red flags now so obvious in hindsight would not have been missed or ignored. But because they were, a child has been grossly abused and then murdered. In return for this there ought to be a shakeup; heads must roll if the authorities hope to restore some modicum of faith in the system. One hopes too, that given the profusion of evidence and witnesses available, justice will prevail.
