Guyana is a country where tensions are brewing and perhaps a playground for criminals. What is unspoken is heard; what is unseen is known, and what keeps the people in bondage appears to be freedom. We are watching a country fall apart, yet some believe that we are becoming whole. However, the bridges that should link and hold us together are broken and the roads that should lead us to our one destiny are damaged or incomplete. The signs of our disintegration are clear.
A kidnapping occurred on September 26th on Main Street. The same street on which the president and prime minister live and where ministries can be found. Yet, Main Street seems to be a central location where criminals are comfortable to steal dreams, maim, kidnap, and kill.
Last week the Cricket Carnival’s Regional Food Festival was held there. During moments of glee and feasting, social, economic, and political status might not matter. Gatherings at the stadium, international artistes, J’ouverts, and costumes all bring temporary relief in the carnival of misery and those in a slumber fall for it every time. Some of the ones who are awake practice escapism.
The crowds that gathered on Main Street were probably not thinking about the footage of a group of men just the week before abducting Joshua David also known as Bricks who has not been seen since. It should be terrifying to think that criminals in this society are so bold that the possibility of being caught on camera while committing crimes does not stop them. Rumours spread when men are snatched off the street. Families hold vigils and pray when they only see their loved ones in their dreams. Families have faith that higher authorities will intervene, and that justice and peace will come, but two weeks later, will Joshua David ever be found?
How can we feel safe in a society when shootings and kidnappings can occur, and justice is not always sure? A society where those who rub shoulders with those in the seats of power can be accused of crimes, and not be held culpable and we the people are calm.
Joshua David was kidnapped on September 26th. A few days later Mikhail Rodrigues also known as Guyanese Critic who has sat with, is said to be friends with and has interviewed government officials was accused of beating a man in a nightclub. The man in an interview with journalist Travis Chase said that Guyanese Critic thought he was someone else, allegedly hit him in the face with his gun, beat him and was planning to put him in the trunk of his car. Guyanese Critic said that he was planning to take the man to the police station and that the man hit him with a bottle. When there are people in any society who can get away with nefarious activities and are emboldened, we should be worried.
It was reported that searches were being carried out in Annandale and Buxton backlands for the missing Joshua David. From Main Street to Buxton, from traumatic event to ghosts of the past, sniffer dogs and drones, David has still not been found.
Even though those accused of the abduction have turned themselves in, my post-traumatic stress from a time when Buxton/Friendship especially was bloodied with unrest was triggered. Buxton is a village that always seems to be a target for criminal elements. We the people have not fully recovered from the gunshots and screams, the bodies and unfulfilled dreams but have simply learned to cope. We remember when young men joined gangs and carried guns. We remember when the police and the army warred with the gangs. We remember being up at nights listening to the sound of gunshots. We remember being afraid to be on the road after six in the evening. We know the tales about Buxton’s backlands. Haunted they may be for there are bodies that were never found, and families still wonder.
Buxton is a peaceful place that was terrorised and criminalised. It is a village of strong people who were stigmatised. But traumatised and stigmatised are many Guyanese across this country. Our past traumas are present continuous nightmares. We are stuck in an asylum hoping for healing, and craving justice. The shadows of Guyana’s criminal underworld darken paths and we wonder how deep the graves are, how shocking the secrets are, who is next, and where, and if anyone is safe.
Corruption has made its bed in Guyana, but the sleeping nation seems comfortable. We heard allegations about a senior cop sharing police intelligence with those accused of kidnapping David. Our stories are too often like dark comedy, but the joke is on the people. In any country, there should never be any evidence or inkling that there may be an embrace between the police and criminals. But scandal after scandal we wonder if the face of the criminal and the police have merged. Scandal after scandal and the corrupt and compromised remain in their positions of power. The people hear these things, momentarily express shock, and shrug. Their urgent matters are about how the prices keep rising and how their rest is continuously disturbed because life is not only difficult for those living in poverty.
I hope the truth about Joshua David is revealed soon. Hope must remain that he will be found alive.
