Prison Escape
Is Guyana a joke? Has the brain drain left us with impediments that manifest in insanity? We are constantly grappling with recurring issues and making little effort to change the status quo.
How often must we read about accused criminals escaping from Lusignan Prison or wait for people to issue apologies for racist offences?
It seems like security is lax at Lusignan Prison. I’m sure there are hardworking prison guards, but it is evident that they are incapable of ensuring that all prisoners are always accounted for. Why is it so easy for prisoners to jump the fence of this prison and escape? Why does it seem like the prisoners who have not escaped only remain for the roof over their heads, three meals a day, or perhaps to stay out of trouble? Based on pictures that have often been released, the living conditions are perhaps not even fit as dwelling places for rodents, but the prisoners housed include some of worst criminals in our country so perhaps comfort is not high on the agenda when they are locked up. And, what is one’s man shack might be another man’s mansion. Perhaps Lusignan Prison, for some, is like a vacation. Prisoners have access to their mobile phones, with which they can take pictures for social media; they also have alcohol, drugs, and other prisoner comforts.
Guyana is a sad place. After accused double murderer Kapildeo Jagandin escaped this week, I could not help but wonder whether we even have a moral compass here. Sometimes it seems that lawlessness is the order and if you happen to be harmed or killed in the process, justice is not guaranteed.
I have many questions surrounding the escape of the 24-year-old, who was accused of murdering 19-year-old Ganesh Persaud on October 15, 2021, and 24-year-old Mukesh Mangra on January 18, 2020. The fact that this alleged murderer was walking free for almost two years to kill again is appalling, but nothing surprises us about our dear land of Guyana. I am sure there are murderers who have been in Lusignan Prison for months and years who have not escaped, but after less than two weeks there Jagandin felt the need to escape. Or did he really escape?
There are people who believe that he did not escape but was released. Do the worst-case scenarios surprise us? No. This is the season of horrors. The sick and dead continue to remind us about the fragility of life. So perhaps Jagandin also thought of this and could not imagine spending his life behind bars. Whether he was released or not, the accusations of guards allowing prisoners to escape are not new. It seems like everyone in Guyana has a price. We know that all criminals are not equal. We have seen allegations several times of those who have been accused of murders and other crimes allegedly bribing their way to freedom. So, the safety of the Guyanese people remains in jeopardy. These escaped criminals can not only kill, rob again or traffic larger quantities of drugs, but often all we the people can do is hope that our homes are secured enough, that we can travel safely without being robbed or kidnapped and that karma will swiftly show its face. It is here also where the white-collar criminals walk free and are rarely convicted.
Haunted Houses
It is not only that Guyana can appear like an open pasture where guns can be drawn at any time and anyone can get hit, but also the racist offensives are evident. For some time now, we have been talking about Guyana embracing the culture of societies like the United States and Caribbean Islands. Mashramani exists, but we also have a Trinidad-style carnival and one holiday that we have been increasingly celebrating over the years is Halloween. So MovieTowne decided to create their haunted house. Upon inspection of a video that was released on social media, some of the dolls on display appeared to be representations of brown people, dressed similarly to enslaved Africans, and were hanging. One could conclude, without knowing the artistic process or the intention of he or she who birthed, executed or had the idea approved, that what we were looking at was a depiction of the lynching of African people. MovieTowne issued a questionable apology, saying that the intention was not to offend and then the creators of the haunted house issued a statement saying that the dolls had been shifted from their original arrangement and thus giving the appearance of Africans hanging. But like many others, I have questions: what do Black dolls looking like the enslaved dressed in African garb have to do with Halloween? What happened to all the local folklore involving Ol’Higue, Baccoo, Moongazer and others, that easily fit in with the theme of Halloween? And if we wanted to be reminded of the greatest crime against humanity, why not portray those who were the owners of slaves? The colonizers are the ones who were scary as they plundered, murdered, beat, raped, and dehumanized Africans. Perhaps all were a part of the haunted house, but we did not see them.
I am all for creative freedom, being a creative myself, but we must also be cognizant of the environment in which we exist and the messages we are sending with our art. We cannot just throw together Black dolls looking like enslaved Africans and excuse it like much thought did not go into it. Much thought should go into art because it is the expression of ourselves, and we can uplift or offend through it. We do not want our art to be thoughtless or shabby.
Whether the intention was to portray the lynching of Africans at MovieTowne’s Haunted House or not, tensions are high in Guyana. We, the people, must act. We must demand that people be held accountable, boycott businesses that are unapologetic when they are in the wrong and hope that at some point, we will snap out of this insanity and truly seek to heal ourselves and all will be treated with respect. We can also only hope that they will fix the escape routes at Lusignan Prison and start holding people accountable. It is inexcusable that prisoners can so easily escape that haunted house.
