On the 23rd of May, Reonol Williams was hit by a car on the Enmore Public Road sometime after midnight. He was with a friend at the time he was hit. The driver of the vehicle was Daniel Melbourne. The police have said that he confessed that though he picked up Mr. Williams with a promise that he would take him to the hospital, he instead took the unresponsive man and dumped him in a trench at Coldingen. Mr. Melbourne had lied to the police when he was initially questioned. He had said that he was not driving the car even though the eyewitness identified him. He was released on bail, and it took two weeks for him to be rearrested, interrogated, and confess what he had done. He took the police to where he dumped Mr. Williams and the decomposed body was discovered.
I suppose some would say that in times of panic people may act out of fear. But there is no excuse for Mr. Melbourne’s senseless and vile actions. One must ask – had the police not rearrested and interrogated him, would his charade of innocence continue? Would he be another one to get away with the crime in Guyana? Not only did he throw Mr. Williams body into the trench, but he continued to weave a tangled web for two weeks with seemingly little to no compassion for the worried and fearful relatives and friends of Mr. Williams. What if Mr. Williams had been still alive when he threw him into the trench? What if he had made it to the hospital and there was a chance of survival? Mr. Melbourne discarded Mr. Williams like he was roadkill, and no innocent Guyanese deserves to be treated that way. It is an example of how little regard some of us have for human life. Almost every day there are senseless actions that lead to the loss of life in Guyana. Not only can it be devastating but often one must ask: Is anyone safe?
Some say that we must not judge others. But there are times we must judge the actions of others. Though Mr. Melbourne may have panicked on the night he hit Mr. Williams because the victim was unresponsive, his actions thereafter revealed that he had no intention of being held accountable. Mr. Williams deserved the respect and compassion to be taken to the hospital. He deserved a chance at life even if it was a little chance. If he had been still alive or dead when he got to the hospital, his loved ones would not have to endure the mental turmoil that they did for two weeks because they did not know where he was. Perhaps if Mr. Melbourne had taken him to the hospital like he promised then he would deserve a smidgen of compassion because no one plans an accident. But not only did Mr. Melbourne lie to the police about driving the car but he also asked a relative to report his car missing. For two weeks he knew Mr. Williams was lying in that trench. For two weeks he let Mr. Williams’ relatives wonder and grieve while he knew his body was decomposing in the trench. The family held vigils, they checked several hospitals, mortuaries, funeral homes and could not find their relative. Yet Mr. Melbourne, though he may have had nightmares about his actions, said nothing until he was rearrested.
There are too many hurt and dangerous people in this society. There are too many harmful actions that are excused. Too many get away with murder and other crimes, and it does nothing for the healing of this nation. That is why to simply utter that we are ‘One Guyana’ with little actions to unite or reconcile is useless. There should be interventions to influence positive behaviour changes in every community in this country.
Immoral behaviour is even escalating among our youth. This week teachers at Lodge Secondary protested about gangs in the school threatening them. A student was afterward found with an air gun. Gangs also threatened teachers at New Campbellville Secondary this week. Who will save the youth from perpetuating violence? Could it be that they have been exposed to too much depravity at too young an age? Is there a day when there are no reports of violent events or other crimes in the news? When the youth are raised to think that moral corruption is the way of life and some who commit serious crimes like murders in Guyana can get away with it, who will be the role models to convince them otherwise?
How can we be comfortable living in a violent, depraved, and inhumane society? Too many hurt people have hurt other people in Guyana and too many are at risk of being hurt. No one should be treated like their life does not or did not matter. Mr. Williams was a father of two, he was jovial, and made an honest living. He did not deserve such disrespect and disregard in death.
On the day Mr. Williams’ body was found, an interview surfaced on social media of one of his relatives. While we grieve with his relatives, and we understand that they are hurt, something one of his relatives, a midwife, said during that interview was shocking and racist.
There is no place to excuse one’s grief with racist statements. Racist statements hurt. Crime is committed by every ethnic group in this country. We cannot let the actions of one person cause us to denigrate entire groups of people. We cannot speak death over our youth or curse groups of people and expect that all will be well in our society.
May the relatives and friends of Mr. Williams find comfort in the memories. Hopefully with time they will heal. His life mattered and I hope justice will be served.
