The photo-op is over but the job is not yet done

Nov 25, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
In all the hubbub around news of Dr. Vishwamintra Persaud’s sexual assault conviction against a minor girl child in the United States, one voice has been quite noticeably absent – that of Minister Priya Manickchand.
While the Medical Council is responsible for deciding whether or not Dr. Persaud remains employed at the GPHC, it is the Ministry of Human Services – headed by Ms. Manickchand – that is responsible for ensuring the enforcement of the Sexual Offences Act.
Dr. Persaud, as a previous letter by Help and Shelter pointed out, has clearly violated Section 35 of this law, which states that, “Any conduct or act done by a resident or citizen of Guyana in a country or territory outside of Guyana shall be deemed to be a sexual offence under the law of Guyana if, (a) constituted an offence under the law in force in that country or territory, (b) would constitute a sexual offence under this Act had it been committed in Guyana.”
Dr. Persaud’s actions against the child in New York – which he confessed to, was convicted of, and for which he had his medical licence taken away – are undoubtedly sexual offences in Guyana as well, and under no circumstances should he have been allowed to take on the position of trust, which he was given at the GPH.
As I have said before – Dr. Rambarran and any others within the Ministry of Health who knew of Mr. Persaud’s criminal conviction, yet still gave him permission to practice are also culpable and deserving of punishment and condemnation.
While some might still need to be educated about the specifics of the Act, Ms. Manickchand has no such excuse. In fact, she was the person who shepherded the law through Parliament and was at the President’s side while he signed it!
At that signing ceremony, Mr. Jagdeo said, and I quote: “We are going to do justice to this bill only if we all together work to support those who have been over the years, subjected to inhumane abuse and often without recourse to justice.”
He also called on religious, rights, non-governmental, and civil society leaders to continue to campaign against sexual offences even if it meant exposing individuals within their own organisations.
Well, Mr. Jagdeo, and Ms. Manickchand, the time has come for you to walk the walk. The case of Dr. Vishwamintra Persaud is one of the first public tests of the Sexual Offences Act.
Minister Manickchand – the photo-op is over but your job is not yet done! The people of Guyana are waiting to hear what you have to say about this issue. To remain silent, as you have done so far, implies either fear of speaking out against someone who has political connections, or lack of concern about the actual implementation of the law. If you continue to stand aside as the Act is so blatantly flouted, you are doing a grave disservice to the women and children of Guyana, many of whom continue to face physical, sexual, and emotional abuse on a daily basis.
To put it another way – there is no point in having legislation, no matter how historic, on the law books if it is not enforced and does not meaningfully impact the lives of those it was intended to protect. Otherwise all we have left with is a picture in the newspaper, a lot of nice sounding words, and a piece of paper that’s only worth wiping our collective bamzee with. That is nothing to be proud of.
Sherlina Nageer

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