Melissa Payne’s slaying: when will this madness end?

Nov 07, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
As I read the front page story which featured Melissa Payne’s gruesome and tragic death, I can only ask myself the question I have asked so many times: when will all this mayhem stop?
I have known Melissa for a number of years since she served in the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM), the youth arm of the PNCR, during the time I served. She was undoubtedly a young woman full of passion for youth development and loved all that life has to offer. Her murderer can only be described as nothing more than plain cowards who are bent on creating havoc in a state where a government seems to be failing in its mandate to protect ordinary Guyanese.
Like every slaying before Melissa’s, Guyanese must once again remind themselves of our vulnerability in this crime ravaged society. For men to be hanging out on street corners, bare-facedly waiting to attack innocent citizens is not only lawless but also unthinkable, in any decent, civil society.
As a nation we cannot remain passive and allow things to degenerate further. It is time for collective action to tackle this, apparently, ingrained criminality.
The government’s failure to deal with the issue in a holistic fashion is also providing an opportunity for these unsavory and unwarranted happenings to engulf us.
How many more families have to mourn the death of their loved ones, whose life suddenly ends at the hands of criminals? Let’s act in one accord as this crime situation affects all of us regardless of class, colour or creed. It spans every county, region, town, village, and street. Every family is a target.
My sincere condolences go out to Melissa’s family. May you take comfort in the fact that God is still alive, he is not dead! The wickedness behind Melissa’s death will be revealed and those found guilty will pay.
Lurlene Nestor

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