Dear Editor,
Christmas and New Year are a few days away and it will be open season for the thousands of sadists in our midst to embark on their mad campaign to terrorise animals, particularly dogs, and to generally make the lives of the elderly and babies a literal hell. And this is with the assistance (yes, assistance) from the police and GRA and all the agencies which allow these loud explosive devices to enter into this country and to be sold openly on the pavement and in shops and by foot-sellers.
Last Diwali night, my dog broke its leg in four places and suffered a displaced joint. It was driven mad by the thunderous noise from (are they?) squibs. My dog’s leg is still in bandages. What did it do to have to suffer as it is? What did I do to have to spend $20,000 at the vet? I am sure that my experience is not singular. Some people’s dogs were killed during the Diwali night massacre. Cows broke their fences to escape.
Our crime? We live in Guyana where these thunder sticks can be set off right under the nose of the police, if not by the police themselves. I know; I live two houses from the Enmore Police Station. We live in Guyana where the law prohibits the sale and use of these explosives, but they can still be sold openly without charges being laid. We live in Guyana where the GRA and the police refuse to or cannot work together to maintain some humaneness in our society. We live in Guyana!
It seems that with every major holiday, bigger and louder squibs enter this country. Some of these explosives are louder than shotguns. They vibrate across a radius of over 50 yards. And no one in this country can stop the abuse by irresponsible citizens and greedy businesses.
Editor, I am hopeful that my letter triggers off a set of protests against this sadism. It is only those who have no sense of feeling or guilt who will have ‘fun’ torturing people and animals, as is happening these days.
Police, GRA: Start your campaign against the sale and detonation of these thunder sticks! It is the least you can do.
Yours faithfully,
Taajnauth Jadunauth
