Dear Editor,
The headlines in Stabroek News on Wednesday, January 29, read ‘Top Cop sweeps No 51 station clean.’ Sincere congratulations to the people of No 48 village and surrounding communities for fighting for their rights and winning, and shame on Commissioner Brumell and Home Affairs Minister Rohee for so shamelessly showing the whole country that whatever PM Sam Hinds writes in his long letters to the press, for the PPP/C ‘all a we is not one.’
Editor, I wish to draw your attention back to the Colwyn Harding story in which he (Colwyn) alleged that a policeman sodomised him with a baton. To date I have not heard the Commissioner or the Minister say anything that makes sense about this young man’s injuries.
I have followed all the letters and articles written in the newspapers and I have not heard anybody in authority say that if the allegation that the young man is making is true (and I personally think it is), why would he in this homophobic society want to tell the whole world that he was sodomised?
If he was, then we need to put measures in place so that it would not happen again and let the law deal with the policeman who allegedly committed the act. Instead, all I read suggests to me that all efforts were made to cover up what happened.
Sometimes I wonder, Editor, if we are living in two Guyanas, one where the authorities take things very seriously (that is, in a place like Corentyne which is predominantly Indian-Guyanese) and the other where they don’t care (that is, when the victims are mainly black youths). Of course, part of the reason why they rush to satisfy protestors in the Corentyne is their fear of losing more supporters to the AFC.
Editor, for this reason and more, I no longer stand up when the National Anthem is playing because I feel that Guyana is no longer a beautiful place to live in, when the very people who swore an oath to serve and protect you are actually the ones whom you are fearful of and the people in authority turn a blind eye.
If we are to live in peace and love and harmony then everybody should have the same quality of life and protection under the law. I know that the world is never a fair place and the playing field is far from level to all that play in it, but we must have one objective, that is, what is good for one must be good for all.
Yours faithfully,
Wintress White
