Linden woman claims political victimisation

Feb 05, 2009 News

…house stoned, garden burnt

After living under what she is terming ‘political marginalization’ for some 30 years, Lucille Oudkerk, 64, of Wismar, Linden, has said that she has reached her wit’s end, and has decided to speak out.

According to Oudkerk, her decision to speak out came when her granddaughter, Serena Charles, 9, was severely beaten when she went to school. Oudkerk suspects that the beating which was meted out to Charles is because of her (Oudkerk) staunch political affiliation towards the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

Last week, Charles came home from school and told her grandmother that she had been beaten when she was at school. Oudkerk said that she initially thought nothing of it, because she believes that it is normal for a child to be flogged.

“You not supposed to get beaten like this,” Charles said to her grandmother.
The child said that she would be sitting and doing her work in class, when her teacher would pass by her and hit her for no apparent reason. She said that since school reopened she was beaten three times.

It was only when her granddaughter’s left hand became swollen that Oudkerk took notice. A medical examination at the Wismar Hospital Complex saw Charles being given a referral to see a bone specialist.

While the beating of her granddaughter is what made Oudkerk speak out, she said that she had been living under conditions of victimisation, because of her political affiliation, for many years. “Since 2006 a group of people has been stoning my house,” she said.

Despite the ‘countless’ reports that Oudkerk said she made to the police in Linden, no action was taken. She added that many times the police had told her to go home, saying that they would follow shortly. They never came.

On one occasion, Oudkerk said that she saw one of the people who were stoning her house, and she made a report to the police, but nothing was ever done to the man whom she saw.

The victimisation, said Oudkerk, caused both her daughter (who lived in a house just next door) and one of her neighbours, who are also PPP supporters, to move out of the area, fearing for their personal safety. “They moved out and they left me, but I will not run,” she said.

Additionally, Oudkerk is also alleging that since 2006, her garden has been cut down and burnt by people in the area. This too, she said, is part of the political victimisation that she is facing.

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