Dear Editor,
We, the members of the Guyana Trans United (GTU), wish to publicly condemn the Guyana Police Force for their continued discrimination against our community. We have been attending court since June 3rd, trying to get some justice for several of our members who were shot at from a vehicle as they stood peaceably on the streets of Georgetown in April. From the beginning, the police discriminated against us- calling us names when we attempted to report the matter at the station, and refusing to take a statement. Additionally, even though we provided police with the licence plate of the vehicle involved, it took over a month, and us picketing in front of the Brickdam Police Station before one of the alleged perpetrators of this violent attack was charged.
However, even though the matter is now before the court, it appears that justice is still far from us. Every time the matter is raised in court, we have heard the police prosecutor say that the file has been sent somewhere for additional information to be added, corrected, or for review. At the last hearing, the police said that they were unable to locate the file and the magistrate declared that unless the file is produced, the case will be dismissed by October 27th.
It has been seven months since we were shot at for no reason. We demand that the Guyana Police Force do their job and help bring the perpetrators of this violent act to justice. There is no reason for the case file to still be incomplete at this point in time. It is also unacceptable for the Guyana Police Force to have lost or misplaced the file. We believe that this shows further discriminatory behaviour against our community and is an attempt to simply make the matter go away and to allow the perpetrators to walk free without any punishment.
GTU is calling on the Guyana Police Force to take violence against transgender individuals seriously, and to properly investigate and respond to all attacks against us. We are Guyanese citizens just like everyone else, with the same human rights as all others and equally deserving of justice. The police have a responsibility to all Guyanese and should not be discriminating against anybody on any basis. Also, when other segments of the population see that we are not being served by the authorities who are supposed to protect us, it sends a message that abuse of transgendered persons is acceptable. It is not. The discrimination and disrespect that we face on a regular basis simply for being ourselves must stop. We demand and deserve justice and accountability from all individuals and systems of Guyana in this and all instances.
We are also still calling for justice to be done regarding the role of the Mekdeci Mining Corporation staff in the murders of our friends and colleagues Jason John and Carlyle Sinclair.
Yours faithfully,
Quincy McEwan
Guyana Trans United