Dear Editor,
After reading about the murder of yet another Chinese national in a robbery attempt, I felt compelled to write.
This one hits very close to home for me; I have been very silent but this one is too close. I almost lost my husband a few months ago in a similar robbery; the bullet missed his head by a mere few inches. This incident sends chills up my spine and I felt that I could no longer remain silent about the crime situation in Guyana. This is not about Africans and Indians, it is not about race, so we should stop fighting about race. Crime knows no race; it affects us all Guyanese as a people and unless we learn to stop fighting among ourselves, this problem can never be solved. Always remember this: we are a nation of six races and our diversity is a two-sided sword. We can either let our diversity divide and destroy us, or we can unify and use our diversity to our advantage; the choice is ours as a people.
Chinese immigrants in Guyana are in most cases in a very vulnerable position due to the language barrier and not being knowledgeable about how the judicial system in Guyana works. But it is beyond comprehension as to why a person who is being charged with robbery under arms is allowed bail and hence, given a chance, to yet again threaten the victims’ lives. Then of course, each time the case is called before the courts, the prosecution is not prepared, some file didn’t go where it was supposed to, someone is not present, for one reason or another the case is always being adjourned for a later date and this process continues until the victims are frustrated and tired of the delays and are no longer willing to testify. By this time, the perpetrators would have gone free and continued on their rampage and moved on to other prey. This is exactly what happened in a few cases where Chinese nationals were robbed.
This is a typical family of Chinese immigrants in Guyana trying to make ends meet by operating a small restaurant establishment. Working hard and making an honest living ‒ then everything changes. A life is taken just because people want to make a fast living. I guess many of us would still remember Zhenji Su, the restaurant owner on the Back Road who was also murdered in cold blood last year in his own restaurant. To date, no one has been charged in that case. There are also other cases of robberies against Chinese businesses.
As I mentioned before, it is no longer about race, crime affects us all. But how do we try and solve this problem? Fighting among ourselves and blaming each other and the political parties will not help us solve this problem.
First of all, the judicial system in Guyana is in critical need of reform and updating. This needs to be done as a matter of urgency. There are far too many loopholes in it that allow criminal elements to escape justice.
I am also in favour of bringing back the death penalty, which still exists in the law books but we no longer practise. No one has the right to take another person’s life because he wants an easy way out; the mere fact that a criminal chooses to carry weapons indicates it is with the intent to harm and take another life. And unless we can all take a stand that the penalty for committing any murder is punishable by death then the crimes will not stop, they will continue. People’s lives will continue to be treated as if they are of no value.
All the human rights’ advocates should consider this: the USA, Japan and Singapore, some of the most developed countries in the world still have capital punishment; this must tell us something. And the next time anyone jumps up and talks about human rights for the criminals, they should ask themselves this: what about the rights of the victims, who were murdered in cold blood? I want them to look at the family of the victims in the face and tell them about human rights. I also want my human rights’ advocate friends to talk about the human rights of the person who has taken the life of one of their loved ones. Only when we are placed in the real situation then we can truly understand how taking the life of someone close to us affects our lives and our society as a whole.
Food for thought my Guyanese Brothers and Sisters.
Yours faithfully,
Anyin Choo
