Cries for justice rose louder yesterday as the two teenagers hacked to death last weekend were memorialised in emotional ceremonies in the city before being laid to rest in the Number 5 Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB) burial ground.
Hundreds of persons yesterday gathered at Parade Ground at a farewell service held for teenage cousins Joel and Isaiah Henry of Number Three Village whose killings triggered national outrage and widespread protests along the WCB. Amid the unrest that followed, another teen – their friend Haresh Singh – was killed and another man, Prettipaul Hargobin was beaten to death after firing a shotgun in the direction of protesters.
Among those present yesterday at Parade Ground were several prominent members of the opposition party including a cousin of the slain boys, former Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry who pleaded for justice to be served.
The service began at 9 yesterday morning after the viewing of the bodies at Sandy’s Funeral Home where President Irfaan Ali was also present. The bodies of the Henry boys were transported shortly after this to Parade Ground for the farewell service.
Following an opening prayer and libation to ancestors, Henry led the tributes.
“Joel and Isaiah, two teenagers, had every reason to believe that this world was a beautiful place; full of hope, dreams and aspirations, and so like many other teenagers, they had big dreams and aspirations too but all of that was cut short”, she began.
Her voice wavered as she continued, “In the past few days, my family and I have heard from so many of you and we really appreciate all the support in this difficult time. As a family, we’re still mourning and we’re hurting and weeping… Today is exactly one week since the family have learnt of the deaths of Joel and Isaiah. They’ve lost their lives and I say ‘lost’ because their deaths is another example of how brutal and evil our society can be. It is a frightening reminder of the prejudice and inequalities that exist here in Guyana and if you think otherwise then quite frankly, you’ve probably would have already lost touch with reality. Prejudice and inequalities are real issues that have to be dealt with because they can’t just go away or be wished away. It requires real and genuine actions by each and every one of us as Guyanese.”
Even as she spoke the crowd acknowledged what she had to say, some willing her to stay strong and not break down even as emotions etched her voice as she continued.
Henry stressed that no one has yet been charged for the gruesome crimes and called for justice contending, “Justice delayed is justice denied”. Their deaths, she insisted, must be a call to action, to prevent the same from happening to another child.
Music
“Their deaths cannot be in vain… We, the Henry family can neither hug nor can we give a five to Joel nor Isaiah again… They both loved music as much as they loved life and if you know anything about them [you’d know], they would sing their hearts out to entertain the family especially their mothers… We will use our voices to tell their stories just so that your sons will not go absent”, the former education minister said.
She said that the family wishes to bring positive changes in the community and keep the memories of the boys alive through a “Joel and Isaiah Scholarship Fund”. The memorial scholarship programme, Henry said, will serve to provide a meaningful way for the Henry family to honour Joel and Isaiah for future generations while noting that they themselves were prevented from securing their own generations since their lives were “snuffed out in the prime of their youth”.
“…My cousins have already been overkilled. They died under the most heinous, horrific and horrendous circumstances, and no family, no family, should ever have to go through this pain”, said the former minister of education.
City Mayor Ubraj Narine in his tribute called yesterday a dark day in the history of Guyana. Narine began by saying he was not addressing the crowd as a political figure but as a father.
“No parents want to bury their child. I cannot imagine what their families are going through. It breaks my heart that these young boys will never get a chance to grow into young men. They will never get to realize their potential. To lose two young children in such a gruesome way is unfortunate and unacceptable”, said the mayor.
Even as he called for “senseless killings to stop”, persons in the crowd called for “justice”.
Attorney for the Henry family, Nigel Hughes said that racism has become the number one priority in Guyana which can no longer be ignored. “If we are to forge a common destiny in this country, then its cornerstone must be equality, equal rights and justice”, Hughes said.
Hughes called for the national leaders of Guyana to meet so as to collectively address racism which plagues the country and to embark on a mission to rid the nation of its prejudice and hate to create a path to peace.
“How many more? How many more?” questioned former Minister of Public Health and PNCR Chair, Volda Lawrence while listing a number of persons who were murdered but for whom justice was never secured.
Bittersweet
Lawrence called for a safer environment for all.
“We as a people have bittersweet memories but the memories of Isaiah and Joel must be different. We must not come here three decades after about getting justice for them. What we want is justice now!” demanded Lawrence, charging everyone to demand the same for the slain cousins.
General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis in his tribute said, “There can be no peace in this land of ours unless every single person in the confines of the 83,000 square miles can enjoy fundamental rights, dignity, and equality…”
The service also saw tributes from representative of Red Thread, Joy Marcus; representative of ACDA, Sister Marshall; and Chairman of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly of Guyana, Vincent Alexander, all of whom offered condolences to the family of the Henry boys and echoed the call for equal rights and justice.
Even as the service came to a conclusion, persons rushed to catch a glimpse of the dead teens but their caskets remained closed before being taken back to the hearses and transported back to the WCB for burial.
Following the service, many who were in attendance hired public transportation bound for Number Three Village. The bodies of the boys were taken to their homes and then to the Number 5 Village ballfield before being laid to rest in the burial ground.
Earlier at Sandy’s Funeral Parlour, President Ali called on all of Guyana to reflect on the importance of love, peace and unity as he joined the families to pay his respects.
“Today, we should respect the family, have the family in our thoughts and prayers; to support them spiritually and mentally and to use the day for prayer and reflection for these two young men. We should use the day to understand how important, love, peace and unity is for our country,” Ali said, according to a release from the Office of the President.
He also said that while justice must be sought for the young men, it must be done in a peaceful and swift manner.
“What we can pray for ultimately is for justice for these two young men, for peace and unity and to let their lives be a legacy for the future of Guyana,” he stated.
He said that such a heinous act must never reoccur.
“These events must never occur again… in the memory of these two young men, all of Guyana should recommit to love, peace, unity and to serve in God. Today I ask the rest of Guyana to reflect in a peaceful manner, to reflect in prayer and to hold up the families in prayer. I urge all of Guyana to reflect calmly today,” Ali stated.
According to a statement issued by his office, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon stressed the need for justice.
“Though the pain of their deaths will not easily subside, none of us must rest until justice is delivered for Isaiah and Joel. None of us must rest or relent. We must ensure that those, all of those, responsible for their deaths are brought to justice and met with the full force of the law. This is not about recrimination, it is about justice.
“We must not tolerate sloppy police work, we must not tolerate partisan policemen protecting the perpetrators, we must not tolerate suspects being sheltered and sent on their way”.
He warned “…if some of us have to be inconvenienced for justice to be served then so it will have to be my brothers and sisters, so it will have to be”.
He cited the words of Jamaican singer Peter Tosh in his song ‘Equal Rights’.
“Everyone is crying out for peace but none is crying out for justice.”
According to the police, enquiries disclosed that the victims left their homes about 5.30 am two Saturdays ago for Cotton Tree Village to pick coconuts to sell but had not returned as of 8 pm on the said day. This caused the mother of Isaiah to lodge a missing person report at the Blairmont Police Station at 8.30pm on Saturday and the mother of Joel Henry to lodge a missing person report at 9am on Sunday. A search party was formed and several searches were carried out before the boys were found the following day.
The police said: “About 15:30 hours on 2029/09/06 while conducting the search in the backdam of the said village (Cotton Tree, WCB) the bodies of Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry were found about 600 feet from each other in clumps of bushes near to a coconut farm.
“Isaiah Henry’s body was seen lying on his back with his head pointing in an eastern direction and feet pointing west. The body was clad in gray short pants, light green long sleeve jersey and bare footed. A wound was seen on his throat, two to (the left side of his head), one on his forehead and one to the left side (of his) chin.
“Joel Henry’s body was found with the upper half in a hole. The body was clad in a black long pants, green long sleeve jersey with white fine stripe and barefooted. The body bore a mark around his throat and bruises on the fingers of his right hand”.
Isaiah and Joel were 16 and 19 years-old respectively, at the time of their deaths.
