Dear Editor,
The mother of the child that was burnt by her partner must be locked up. The father of the child that was aware that he was being abused by the stepfather must be locked up. The brother and other family members who said they spoke to the abuser about what he was doing, must be locked up. Anyone who knew that that child was being physically abused and did not contact Child Services and the police must be arrested.
Physical and sexual abuse of children in Guyana is widespread and many are indifferent to it. The relevant government ministry responsible for the protection of our children from these abuses are fully aware of the magnitude of the problem. They are slow to react and are never proactive in dealing with that scourge. If we do not begin to demand a national approach to stamping out the abuse of children in Guyana, we are equally culpable in failing children in this country. The government is now called upon to reveal the statistics of child abuse in Guyana, what it has done, is doing and intends to do to stop it.
But many will argue that if a former PPP government minister and current executive of the PPP, Nigel Dharamlall can walk free and is being protected by the Ali/Jagdeo regime after allegations of child sexual abuse and violence were levelled against him, how can we expect government to be trusted to bring an end to this scourge. Non-Government Organisations such as Red Thread and others including the international community responsible for the rights and protection of children globally must intervene. We need data. We need statistics. We need to see visible action. We must not fail the vulnerable in our society.
Should I call on the opposition to fight to see this government do what is being asked here to save our child from violence? Should we ask the opposition to try to do anything to stop the regime from allowing the madness in Guyana to continue? We must demand our leaders act now! Suspend every walkabout, meet and greet and public utterances for political currency and electoral triumph in 2025, over the next three months. Your every move and action must deal with the greatest human scourge known to mankind; sexual abuse and violence against children. Your focus, your energy and your actions must be directed toward a solution to this darkest stain on our society.
I urge every Guyanese to join in this call and to see the ignoring of this as our leaders’ unwillingness, indifference and lack of compassion towards making our vulnerable children safe in Guyana. We, the people, must now call upon the major political parties to call an urgent press conference to discuss a plan of action that will deal with the problem. In fact, the Guyanese people must unite and demand of our leaders that their 2025 campaign must be centered around this most grave and inhumane problem plaguing Guyana. Those of you viewing Jagdeo’s press conference later today must flood the comments section calling on him to give answers. Let’s us all stand together to stamp out violence against children in Guyana.
Sincerely,
Norman Browne,
Social and Political Activist
