A United States-based Guyanese woman was robbed at gunpoint of cash and valuables on Wednesday morning soon after she arrived at the East Coast Demerara (ECD) home where she was expecting to stay while here.
Seeraijie Shivram, 56, of Florida, was confronted by two men, one armed with a gun, in front of the Mon Repos, ECD residence on her arrival from the airport.
Vishal Shivram, Seerajie’s son, told this newspaper that his father, his mother and his uncle and aunt had just arrived after picking up his mother at the airport. He said he was asleep when his father came and woke him up. As he went outside to see his mother, he heard a scream, and saw two men running outside and escaping in a car.
Seerajie lost over US$3,000 and all of her personal documents, while her sister and brother-in-law lost their valuables and $25,000.
“I can’t even remember what exactly happened because it happened so fast,” the distraught woman recalled. “We arrived at the house and my husband and I got out of the car. He went up to the bus to move it up so the car could fit in the yard and when I was walking behind him, I felt someone snatch my handbag off my shoulder. When I turn around I saw another man with a gun and he took things from my sister and her husband who was in the car.”
Expressing fear at remaining in the country, she added, “I just want to get my documents back and leave as soon as possible.”
She explained that the US embassy has been very cooperative and said she should have her documents back as soon as possible.
Investigations are ongoing and police are checking CCTV footage from nearby houses.
