Relatives and others who knew the two Region Three teenagers who were found dead weeks apart in apparent suicides say more investigations need to be done even as the actions of welfare officers believed to have led one of them to take his life have outraged them.
Natasha Nazamudeen, 15, of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo was found dead in her home on December 18 while her boyfriend Safraz Sattaur, 16, of Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara was found hanging in his bedroom on Friday after reportedly being threatened by welfare officers in relation to the death of Natasha. “The people (welfare officers) tell he de gyal get murder and he gah go court,” a resident who spoke to Sattaur immediately after the officers left told Stabroek News yesterday. He said that the teen was visibly upset at the time.
When contacted on Saturday, Minister of Educa-tion Priya Manickchand had said that she was unaware of the issue and would look into it.
Around 2pm on Friday, a few villagers who had gathered opposite the Sattaurs’ home to do a ‘bush cook’ saw three persons, who had exited a white mini-bus, talking to Sattaur outside his yard. One of the villagers had told Stabroek News that he had approached the group after noticing that Sattaur appeared distressed. “When I go up to them, they stop talking till I move off and then they continue. A couple minutes later I see the ministry vehicle drive out of the street,” the man had recalled. Yesterday, he said that the persons were talking to Sattaur for between 5 to 10 minutes and he had told them to “stop harassing the lil boy.”
After the officers left, he and another man then went over to Sattaur and inquired what it was the officers had wanted. According to the other resident, Sattaur told him that the officers said that Natasha was murdered and he would have to go to court. He said that after further speaking to Sattaur the teen told him that the day before Natasha reportedly committed suicide, the couple was at the Anna Catherina home and she was telling him about some abuse she had suffered and what had resulted. According to the villager, Sattaur related that while they were speaking about it, the phone number for a close relative of the girl was accidentally dialled and the relative apparently heard the entire conversation.
The villager related that the teen told him that after realizing this, they disconnected the call but shortly after the relative called back on Sattaur’s phone and enquired if Natasha was there. Sattaur related that Natasha told him to say no and he did, the villager related.
The next day, the girl was found dead in her room in an apparent suicide. She lived with her mother and stepfather in Tuschen. However, her father, Mohamed Nazamudeen who lives several villages away at Ruby, has disputed that his daughter killed herself and he believes that she was murdered and wants a thorough police probe.
Relatives said that since Natasha’s death, the close relative kept calling Sattaur on his phone. “She use to call on a regular basis after the girl pass away just asking if she ever tell he anything,” Sattaur’s mother, Nadira said. She said that the last time the relative called was on Old Year’s Night and she answered the phone and the relative asked to speak to Sattaur. She said that she handed the phone to her son and apparently the relative said that she would call back.
Nadira said that at Natasha’s funeral which she attended, a letter allegedly written by the girl was shown to the headmistress of the Stewartville Secondary School where Natasha was a third-former but the woman reportedly said that it was not the girl’s handwriting and other students said so as well.
Relatives as well as residents are calling for a thorough probe of the two deaths. Sattaur’s parents had earlier demanded justice for what had happened to him and reiterated their call yesterday. “De welfare had no right coming and threatening him. Dey had no right questioning him for nothing if dey didn’t have his parents’ consent. That was wrong and justice must be served. Dese people pushed him by threatening him… Let dem check de girl mother she playing a good role,” Sattaur’s grandmother had said. She had related also that Natasha’s mother had called them after he was found hanging to inform them that welfare officers would be paying a visit.
Sattaur’s funeral is scheduled for today.
Meanwhile, Nazamudeen said that despite saying that they would contact him, the police have not done so and he plans to pursue the matter further this week. He said that he had requested a copy of the autopsy report from Natasha’s mother but to date has not gotten a copy.
Natasha’s mother, Nita Afaghani, when contacted by Stabroek News had said that she found her daughter’s suicide note “a few days ago” and had taken it to the Leonora Police Station on Friday last. She had said Natasha had written that she was tired of life and had decided to kill herself because no one had time for her and that they must tell her father that his wish was granted.
Afaghani claimed that Natasha’s relationship with her father was “dysfunctional”. She had also stated that she believed Sattaur and her daughter had issues in their relationship, which consequently led to her death. “We find a text in Natasha phone from the boy that said he sorry for what he did,” the mother claimed.
She also denied that she had sent the welfare officers to Sattaur’s home. She admitted though that the welfare officers had visited her home in Tuschen on Friday morning. She said they had questioned her about Natasha’s life and asked whether she used to beat her daughter.
