An APNU+AFC-led government will ensure that sexual predators are jailed, human rights activist and miner Simona Broomes said last evening, while adding that victims will no longer be left out in the cold.
“Stop impregnating our little children. You going to jail!” Broomes, a candidate for the coalition, declared during an address to a mammoth crowd that gathered at the Merriman Mall for a women’s rally organised by the APNU+AFC campaign.
Despite occasional light showers, supporters stood their ground and waved their flags, pieces of cloth and posters. Persons lined Church Street and North Road, which runs alongside the mall, to get a glimpse of what was happening and to hear the presentations.
Noting that Guyana has been rated as number two in the Caribbean and South America for the high incidence of teenage pregnancy, Broomes said that for too long mothers have sat and allowed this scourge to get out of control. “This is our country and we will take it back,” she said amidst shouts of approval and support.
She said women cannot allow menfolk to rape and take advantage of their daughters and do nothing. Further, she noted that when these incidents occur, the girls are often blamed although they are really the victims in need of support.
Broomes said the coalition will not stand for it anymore. “So I am going to put the men on notice that the law calls it rape. When you rape, you commit a crime,” she said, adding that no victim would be left out in the cold.
She said fathers and step fathers are also being put on notice and she urged women to stand by their children when they receive reports of rape.
She also blamed the PPP/C government for putting women in a situation where they have to turn a blind eye because they are dependent on the rapist for financial and other forms of support.
“You telling yuhself you get pride. Jane belly get big and she can’t go to school. She pregnant for daddy…,” she said.
She bashed the police force for its countless excuses in tackling child crimes in the interior and also took aim at the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) for not helping victims.
Calling out the agency’s name in a comical voice, she said the only thing good about the building is “the paining on the wall. It is no child-friendly place.” She told the attentive crowd of how victims of teenage pregnancy are spoken to harshly when they are taken to the CC&PA to seek assistance.
Broomes said May 12th, the day after Guyanese go to the polls for general and regional elections, will be a day of resurrection. “I want to send a message to the PPP… the time is coming soon. We will stand together as women and say to this country, we taking our daughters back, we taking we mothers back,” she said to applause. She said the coalition is saying to Guyanese women that “we have started the job, we will continue… we will ensure that our young girls are
being protected even from the hands of policemen.” She pointed to a few cases where policemen have been implicated and charged with crimes committed on young girls.
Broomes made it clear that she cares nothing about the hurt her statements may cause the police since her priority is the women of Guyana who continue to be the victims of sexual violence.
She said that even those who are being raped by their employers will not be forgotten. “Rape is rape, regardless of your age,” she said.
She also urged all women to refuse money being offered for the sale of their identification cards. “I am keeping my ID card. We are keeping our id card and we are going to vote APNU+AFC,” she shouted with the assistance of many in the crowd.
Crisis situation
Sandra Granger, described as the “First Lady in-waiting,” said Guyana is in crisis and the only way to fix the many problems being faced in the health care, social services and education sectors is to vote for the coalition.
She said she has seen testimony of the crisis from the many visits she had made across the country with her husband. She spoke of a computer centre in the Rupununi which turned out to be a bare room, poor conditions for school children and pressures teachers are faced with in having to teach multiple classes. She also spoke of the state of the University of Guyana and the fact that the temporary “stables” have not yet been replaced with a permanent building.
Granger spoke of how two women have to share a single hospital bed at the Georgetown Hospital, the distribution of expired medication, the existence of ambulances which do not work, equipment which does not function and sometimes undertrained staff attending to patients. She said too that government is often slow to respond to health crises, as was seen during the outbreaks in Region One.
She said that social services are poor as all are affected, including senior citizens, the victims of domestic violence, youths, the mentally ill and physically-challenged people.
“It burns me that trafficking in persons is trivialised by this government. Trafficking in persons does not only affect little Amerindian girls, it affects girls on the coast as well,” she said, before adding that she has heard some harrowing tales from Broomes which have left her heartbroken.
She later urged all to be vigilant at polling stations and ensure the statements of poll and ballot boxes are kept secure.
Sita Nagamootoo, the wife of the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate Moses Nagamootoo, said that she recognises the many faults in the education system, including the shortage of text books and rundown class rooms. She assured that the coalition, which will be the new government, would lift the quality of education for both children and teachers.
She urged the women in the audience to hop abroad the “unity train” so that their children and grandchildren can experience unity and freedom. “We deserve better leadership. I ask you to vote for David and Moses… I ask you to join us on the unity train,” she urged.
Region Ten’s Vanessa Kissoon also made a fiery presentation and was well received by the crowd, which jumped, waved and screamed as she was introduced to the podium. Kissoon, who is known for being outspoken not only on the troubles that her fellow Lindeners are faced with but rights issues, spoke of what she described as the suppression of PPP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Elisabeth Harper. She made mention of the “abuse” allegedly meted out to former First Lady Varshnie Singh by her former husband, former president Bharrat Jagdeo, as well as the latter’s bullying tactics. She later issued a challenge to Jagdeo for a debate on a variety of topics, including the many unfulfilled promises made to Region Ten by the PPP/C.
Candidates Volda Lawrence, Cathy Hughes and Cheryl Sampson also made addresses in which they too stressed that it is time for a change, while noting that women have been continuously sidelined and suppressed even though they are the backbone of the country. Other issues discussed included poverty, security and unequal pay.
