Woman fearful for her life, appeals to authorities for help

Feb 03, 2010 News

Even as the Minister of Human Services, Priya Manickchand, has declared a zero tolerance disposition on domestic abuse, a young woman from the Ancient County of Berbice is fearful for her life following several attacks from her reputed husband.

She has since accused the police of foot dragging following what she opined is their callous attitude to numerous reports lodged at several stations countrywide.

The woman, Oreatta Reid, related that her woes started some two years ago while she lived with her spouse, Dwayne Critchlow, in Fryish, Berbice.

She said that her reputed husband left their home shortly after she became pregnant leaving her to fend for herself. She said that she subsequently traveled to Georgetown to spend some time with her mother in Albouystown. She eventually gave birth to a baby boy.

Reid related that even after she had delivered the child, her spouse had refused to be a part of his upbringing.

The woman said that she was so disgruntled by the shabby treatment that she received from her spouse that she decided to keep the baby away from him. She explained that she had just started to adapt to her situation when her spouse made an unceremonious re-entry into her life.

“He just appear out of de blues and tell me that he want de two ah we fo deh back,” Reid disclosed. She said that she told him that she wanted nothing to do with him but the man refused to take no for an answer. It was around this time that the beatings started.

“He start beating me every time he see me,” Reid lamented. She said that her spouse followed her to Georgetown and started molesting her. “One time he beat me up bad, bad and even cut off me hair,” she said.

Shortly after, the man followed her to her mother’s house in Albouystown and destroyed furniture and other household items.

He also beat her mercilessly. Oreatta decided that she could bear no more of the suffering. She said that she lodged a complaint at the Ruimveldt Police Station.

Reid recounted that the officer gave her a medical form and advised her to visit the hospital to have her injuries diagnosed and to facilitate a report from the doctor. She said that she did as the officer instructed, but upon her return to follow up the issue, she was told that the officers could not find the document.

The woman said that following the initial report, she had lodged similar reports at several police stations countrywide, including Vigilance and Reliance, Canje, among others. She noted that she also lodged a complaint at the Legal Aid department. The distraught woman said that officials at that institution advised her to return this Thursday to address the matter.

The woman approached this newspaper for assistance, claiming that she is now fearful for her life.

The issue took a turn for the worse last Sunday morning when her reputed husband traveled to Berbice on the pretext of visiting his son.

The woman said that she agreed to let him take the child to a horse race meeting in the Corentyne. She said that her spouse returned the child some time later and even offered her $10,000 towards his care.

She said that he then demanded sex from her and when she bluntly refused to accommodate him he became angry and took back the money he had earlier given to her.

She subsequently retired to bed. She said that ten minutes later her spouse started to kick at her door. “When I refused to open he threatened to burn down the house,” an aggrieved Oreatta Reid related.

She said that she became afraid and called for the police. Despite the urgency of her pleas, the law enforcement officers did not show up until the following morning, some twelve hours after the initial call.

By then, her spouse had already left the area. The woman said that he had called her on several occasions since the last episode and is threatening to do her harm.

She is appealing for intervention from the relevant authorities before the situation takes a deadly twist.