It was 2009. I was 15 years old and had attended the St Joseph High School fair with friends. We had a good time; took photos and vibed to the music.
After my friends and I left the fair, a group of guys surrounded us and I felt a sharp object at my ribs. It didn’t pierce my skin, but the robber placed it just enough so I could feel its sharpness. I said, “tek everything.” My friends realised that we were all being robbed and also gave up their valuables.
One of them scolded me afterwards and said that if I hadn’t panicked “we could’ve taken those guys on.” I did not want to take any guys on. I wanted to survive the ordeal unscathed and I did. That night, many other people were robbed. Apparently, there was a gang operating and we were not the only victims. There was a guy who fought off a thief but that thief brought more criminals and viciously attacked him. They stripped him and took his footwear.
I was unable to recall the happiness of the fair, but pictures told me that there was a period that I was happy. I remember vowing never to attend a St Joseph High School fair again. That was the first time I was robbed.
In 2018, I read articles about patrons being mugged and attacked at the St Joseph High School fair. I was not surprised. I knew that this was a common occurrence as a teenager and it would happen again.
Fast forward to 2015. I was 22 years old and producing 15 plays for the independence celebration. One night, I had collected ticket money but had given it to another producer. I had earplugs in my ears and I was listening to music; lost in my own world. I quickly found myself on Earth when two men rode up to me. One of them pointed a gun in my face and told me to give him everything. I gave him my cell phone. He collected it and rode off. I had been robbed for a second time.
When you’re growing up, you don’t imagine that your life would be threatened twice before your 25th birthday. The second robbery happened just outside my home and left me traumatised. I do not walk alone at night. I either take a taxi or walk with someone. When I am walking, especially at night, my mind is focused on the environment. I do not have time to imagine good things that make me happy. My sole focus is on survival and looking out for danger.
In 2019, at age 26, I was robbed for the third time. One of the side effects of getting robbed was that I no longer took the bus but on that particular night I convinced myself that lightning couldn’t strike twice. It did. I saw three people standing at the Lamaha Springs sign. It was approximately 11:30 pm and the area was dark. I stopped. I sensed danger and was going to turn and run to the nearest house, but then my ear caught their conversation. Two women and a man were arguing about an alleged affair. My guard dropped, but once I passed them the argument stopped and I knew it was a set up. The man rushed me. He had a knife in his hand. He threatened to kill me; the women picked up cutlasses. I gave him what I had and they went on their way. Since that night, I have never taken the bus at night to go home or anywhere. Stressful on the pockets, but it is one of the things Guyanese have to do to avoid the crime situation. I told someone about this robbery and he was saddened and disgusted. At the time, there was a recent police report that said crime was going down. He did not believe crime was going down, it was simply not being reported. I did not report being robbed.
Possibly that same year, my house was broken into. Someone asked me if I had moved a tape. I said no. I dashed downstairs and checked on the cabinet for my phone. It was gone. Bandits had robbed us while we were asleep. I ruminated on this event and realised how sleeping makes us vulnerable. My anxiety increased and wherever I walked my sense of danger (real or unreal) increased. But that was not the worst ordeal.
In 2021, in the midst of the pandemic at approximately 3.50 am, footsteps awakened me. I knew those footsteps did not belong to anyone in the house. I opened my eyes and was about to get off the bed. Bang! My door flew open. Two gunmen entered my room. They looked young and were smaller than me in size. I looked outside my room and saw another one guarding my door. They searched my room and took whatever valuables they needed. I ran downstairs, uncertain as to why I followed these men. I think I wanted to ensure they left the house. I saw them searching downstairs in the house and one of them asked me what I was doing downstairs – in my own house. He chased me upstairs and my sister, who was calling out to me, opened the door, quickly locked it and began to scream. The neighbours woke up and peeked out. I heard one of the bandits say, “leh we ga lang.” They left. To date, my memory cannot form a comprehensive picture of what occurred that night. My brother remembers in detail. I did not sleep in my room for over a month.
Lamaha Springs has been dealing with robbery for a long time. When I was 11, my stepsister was held at knife point around the same place I was robbed the second time. I see a pattern here. Oftentimes, I would hear Guyanese suggesting and celebrating the death of bandits and I always ask myself whether that would truly solve the issue of crime. Killing bandits has never solved crime in Guyana. When you kill one, another one pops up.
It is the environment which is a strong contributing factor, but people never take this into account. They lay it all on personal responsibility and this is not something that I am dismissing, but when children learn that stealing is okay it is hard to root that out of them. These are the morals and values that the adults teach them.
I hear various reasons for Guyana’s crime situation and the celebration of the death of criminals. But I never hear talk about or the celebration of poverty reduction or the elimination of inequality in a society; a major contributing factor to crime.
According to USAID, “Poverty and crime often occur simultaneously. How-ever, analyses show that crime is not driven by poverty alone, but rather by inequality. Countries with high overall levels of poverty do not necessarily have higher levels of crime. It is places with high levels of income inequality that typically have the highest levels of crime. Another driver of crime is a breakdown in social norms and values which results in, and is worsened by factors such as unemployment, incomplete education, a breakdown in family structures, limited opportunities and exclusion from the formal economy.”
I read this brief analysis and know a lot of these problems exist in Guyana. One only needs to take a tour in depressed communities and see children on the street and not in school. Many struggle for an education. There is a breakdown in social norms and values. It has become commonplace to hear of women being beaten or killed by partners and sometimes in front of their children. The problem of violence against women has been happening for generations and sometimes it feels like there has been little to no improvement. There is an effect on the people who experience abuse and on those who witness it. We need to dig and find the root for these types of behaviours.
In 2016, USAID in partnership with the government launched a Youth Empowerment Services (YES) programme that targeted the reduction of crime and violence in our youth population. Recently, another programme was launched: the Youth Resilience, Inclusion and Empowerment (Y-RIE) with the same goals. It would be good if these findings and solutions could be disseminated to the public in a creative way. Audio-visual media is a great tool for dispelling myths and educating the public about crime and the impact of crime on our society.
I can recall in the early 2000s, there was a campaign about HIV and the impact of its stigma and discrimination. It was effective because it was creative and was played ad nauseam. I still remember the messages of those ads. I do not recall seeing such a campaign on crime that could help society understand what leads to criminal activity and perhaps be more cognisant of the actions and behaviours that enable an environment for crime to fester.
Whenever Guyanese see criminals, they are in court round up and the media lists the facts about the alleged crime. I always ask myself what is behind the facts and how did this person end up here. This is what we need to know. I have heard comments like “dey lazy, dem ain’t want wuk, and is easy money dem looking for.” These might have some truth, but I always ask myself why does such behaviour exist?
