President Irfaan Ali yesterday called for unity when he attended a private viewing of the body of Haresh Singh at Persaud’s Funeral Home in New Amsterdam hours before he was taken home and then to the Number Three backdam where he was finally laid to rest.
Haresh Singh, 17, was beaten to death on September 10 in what appeared to be a reprisal for the killings earlier that week of the Henry cousins: Isaiah and Joel Henry.
The president stressed that yesterday was another sad and sorrowful day for the country as the final rites for Singh were done.
“Today is a day for us to reflect, today is a day for us to remember these families in our prayers and to recommit ourselves individually and collectively to a Guyana that will be better and a Guyana in which unity will prevail,” President Ali was quoted as saying.
He stated his belief that the Guyana Police Force with the support requested from the regional institution and from the British government, “would allow us to bring all these criminals who perpetuated these acts to justice.”
The President also emphasised that some focus must be also placed on “healing and bringing our country together.”
He made it clear that it is important that citizens of Guyana come together in order to ensure that such horrific incidents are not repeated. “… as president I can assure you that my government is going to work day in and day out to bring our people together through policies and programmes, through social efforts, and merging of culture, [it] is important to create that Guyanese identity.”
Additionally, he said that there must be “social safety nets for the vulnerable in our society. We have to do these things in addition to ensuring that justice is served for these three young men,”
Ali also told the gathering: “We have to reflect on these incidents and ensure that we build mechanisms in society, ensure that we strengthen our society.”
Protest action had erupted on the West Coast of Berbice after the bodies of Isaiah and Joel Henry, who were brutally murdered, were discovered.
According to the president, in addition to visiting the relatives of the three deceased, he has also spoken to those persons who were injured.
“Some of them cannot fend for their own now because of the type of injury so at some point also we have to have that healing process there. I want them to know that all those persons who were affected in various ways we are going to connect with them also.”
He mentioned that persons have been posting their experiences on social media and he has personally contacted some of them, “We have to connect with them to find ways in which we can help as a government.”
The body of Singh was taken from the funeral parlour to his residence in Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice where he resided with his grandparents.
His grandmother cried uncontrollably until at one point she just sat and stared at her grandson as he lay in the coffin, adorned in a traditional East Indian outfit.
His grandfather, Inderjeet Singh, also known as ‘Bundan’, 62, who broke into tears while speaking with Stabroek News, said that his grandson was always helpful. “He does go backdam with me and make sure we get everything. He been really a help me,” the man disclosed.
He added, “When that boy wake up morning time he does go straight to the backdam and do what he go to do and then he go come back and sit in the hammock and then bathe and eat and gone to bed.”
The man said that Singh’s mother separated from his father several years ago which resulted in Singh and his four siblings along with their father moving in with the grandparents.
Two years ago Singh’s father passed away suddenly from a suspected heart attack after returning home from work.
The grandfather also explained that they chose to bury Singh at the Number Three backdam where his other relatives including Singh’s father were buried.
