Cotton Tree Backdam West Coast Berbice remains a haunted place. Just four years ago it was there where the lifeless bodies of Joel and Isaiah Henry were found. It was there where their cries and screams were silenced forever. It is there where restless spirits I am sure congregate to mourn what was done to their bodies. What now decays in the ground was mutilated, spine detached, and blood drained into the earth – horrors unimaginable. It was there where the murderers of the Henry boys were blood thirsty and merciless, cold, and hateful as they stole the life of two innocent boys. It is there where none of them stopped for a moment to spare them or to think about the great evil that they were engaged in, the repercussions that would follow and the trail of sorrow their actions would leave. It is there where none of them thought about the future those boys deserved to have. Empathy detaches itself from some human beings. They are not good or righteous, they are not kind or selfless, but the epitome of what it means to be evil.
A few days ago, I had a conversation with someone who said he was a relative of the murdered boys. The fourth death anniversary of the boys has just passed and still justice is to be had. Their bodies were found on September 6th, 2020. I remember where I was on that night, I heard the news. Alone in my home, stricken with grief, I was horrified. I did not know them, but what about the mothers who gave birth to them, their fathers, other relatives, friends who grew up with them – everyone who loved them. Such tragedies leave oceans of trauma. Such tragedies can distort the mind. Such injuries to the soul are often unaddressed in this place we call Guyana.
The shock and anger have long subsided for many, but the long sorrow of their relatives, friends and the strangers who care continues. I would hope that it haunts those guilty of their murders. I would hope that they see their faces every time they close their eyes. I would hope that by some miracle there is remorse and perhaps someday they will find the courage to admit what they did and seek forgiveness.
The relative I spoke to said that the murders have destroyed the families. Every murder that followed, every arrest and every death, were because of the evil hands that murdered those two boys.
In 2021 Gladston Henry, brother of Isaiah Henry was among four charged with the murder of Haresh Singh. Haresh Singh’s murder was said to be a revenge killing in response to the murder of the Henrys. Even though there were witnesses who claimed that Gladston was at home at the time of Singh’s murder watching the post-mortem of his murdered relatives, he was still charged along with three others. Justice wraps its hands around the necks of some sooner than it does for others. Some murderers get away with their crimes in Guyana while some even though they may be innocent spend years behind bars.
In 2021 Mark Henry who is the brother and cousin of the murdered boys was charged for the murder of Surojdeo Deochand. Deochand was found chopped to death. He was one of the men who was initially arrested for the murder of the boys but was released by the police. As the saying goes, hurt people hurt people. The victims of crime can become perpetrators. A family grappling with grief and pain can be driven into madness.
Both mothers of the boys are now dead. Some may take comfort that they are now reunited with their sons where the ancestors gather. But too soon their sons were sent there. Too soon their caskets were seen at Parade Ground where I stood feeling the shared grief. Too soon they were taken to their home in Berbice for the final resting of their bodies.
Isaiah’s mom Patricia died in October of 2022 of a heart attack and the mother of Joel, Gale Henry, died in November of 2023 of a ruptured blood vessel. We can deduce that after the murders of their sons, these mothers never found peace. They also faced further distress because of what happened to their other sons. We can deduce that the grief and stress had an impact on their health. The fact that both were dead within three years of the gruesome murders should speak to us.
The murder of the Henry boys sparked a series of unfortunate events. We cannot ignore the racial tensions that occurred because of these murders and the murders that occurred thereafter. The people were angry and there were protests and violence. These murders could have resulted in a darker time in Guyana. We seek to live in peace and harmony in this country, but too often racial tensions reveal to us that we are still working towards truly being one people, one nation with one destiny.
The way those boys were killed were the doings of some of the evilest minds that live amongst us. The post-mortem revealed that they died of haemorrhage and shock. Their spines were severed and there were multiple wounds against their bodies. But who murdered them?
Initially there were multiple arrests. However, it was only two men, Vinod Gopaul and Anil Sancharra that were eventually charged for the murders.
The relative I spoke to, said the boys were quiet. They worked and were on the path to creating the lives they wanted. He also spoke about the man he believes is responsible for their deaths. A man he alleged had done similar acts before. Two boys being accused of stealing coconuts can never justify what was done to them. There are people who can kill and get away with murder in Guyana. There are people who work tirelessly to cover up crimes in Guyana.
We must never forget Isaiah and Joel Henry. I hope that one day their families will receive justice. We must not forget the protests, violence and the murders that occurred after their deaths. We must not forget their brothers who were placed behind bars. We must not forget their mothers who passed away never seeing justice for their sons; they were never able to take flowers to their graves to whisper that the people who murdered them were held accountable. We must never forget the living relatives and friends whose grief has multiplied since September 6th, 2020.
There are many Guyanese tragedies, but this one will forever remain in my mind. It was not only two lives that were lost, but it set off a series of events that resulted in the deaths and the imprisonment of others. Two brave mothers who were forever wounded stood for their sons, but the short time they had was not enough for them to see justice. Cotton Tree Backdam remains a haunted place.
