Guyana, one of the most primitive countries in the world

Nov 04, 2011 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

In which country in the year 2011, with all the international laws on human rights that nations have signed up, a remand prisoner (please note not a convicted felon) cries out in the middle of the night for chest pain (indicative of an oncoming heart attack) and is told that he has to wait until the next morning when the medex comes?
In many European Union countries, perhaps all, the death of that remand prisoner would have resulted in manslaughter charges against prison authorities
This man died and his death will be completely forgotten by the time this issue of KN is one day old. Guyanese now know that when a Camp Street inmate shouts out in pain, whatever the condition that inmate is in, he has to wait until the morning for treatment. What makes this country so primitive is that the central prison has no authority to take a prisoner to the hospital at midnight in a ride that would literally take five minutes.
The Georgetown Hospital is less than two miles from Camp and Durban Streets to Thomas and New Market Streets.
This country has been officially informed that prisoners will have to die if they suffer a life-threatening malady in the wee hours of the morning because only in the mornings the medex does his/her rounds. I take this position based on what I read in the two independent dailies that when the inmate yelled out for pain, he was told he had to wait for the morning visit of the medex.
What is sad about this fatality is that the man was not convicted for any crime. This brings into question the continued denial of bail for murder.
I don’t know this victim. I am writing based on what I read in the KN and SN. It reminds me of Clement Rohee, Home Affairs Minister, who said to journalists that why should they ask him about torture when he has other important matters on his plate?
Was this man a protégé of Cheddi Jagan? Who is at fault? Cheddi Jagan for imprinting his ideology on this gentleman? Or the fault lies with the gentleman who didn’t emulate Papa Cheddi?
I read that a man was beaten by public-spirited persons after he attacked at gunpoint, Dutch Bottle Café’s owner on North Road. My sympathies to the owner who was badly beaten. The man, after he was detained, was taken to Georgetown Public Hospital then sent back to the Brickdam lock-ups. He was found dead the next day in his cell. I guess life is cheap in Guyana. You go into the hospital for some minor treatment, you never come out.
Even if one can cynically argue that the Dutch Bottle Café robber deserved what he got (after all crime is out of control in Guyana) and there are many who would do so, didn’t the hospital detect any serious internal bleeding?
How can the population of this land accept a policy that when a prisoner is sick, he/she could only be seen by a medex the next day?
Mark Benschop and I were remanded to the Brickdam lock-ups for three days over a traffic violation that does not carry a custodial sentence. If one of us had fallen seriously ill, could we have lost our lives because we could not have been transported to the Georgetown Hospital?
I guess the wife of this victim is a poor woman who perhaps will not pursue legal action. But there is Legal Aid. And no matter how long it takes for this court case to come up, she should sue the Attorney-General for five hundred million dollars for her husband’s death.
When prisoners are sick, they should be taken to the hospital.
I am about to write an observation that is not nice, but I will go ahead anyway.
We are in an election campaign. Shouldn’t this tragedy be made into a campaign issue? I feel guilty saying this, because it could be interpreted as using the man’s death for election purposes. I am contending that it doesn’t matter what time of night it is, when a prisoner is in pain and he/she cries out, that person must be allowed to visit a hospital.
What do you tell this man’s children when they grow up? That in the year 2011 in Guyana, an inmate of the Camp Street prison could not see a doctor after certain hours despite the seriousness of the illness. Are we creating violent young people with our backward system? Let’s see what the election result produces.

14 thoughts on “Guyana, one of the most primitive countries in the world”

FBIProber November 4, 2011 at 9:33 am

Freedie, everything in Guyana is Primitive – Why you think so many Guyanese outside Guyana than what is inside? Whenever we bring our relative and friends to visit on vacation guess what you does hear come out from there mouth: – oh meh lad we neva see thing like this yet. Bai when abeh in Guyana gon get this – and the slangs keep ranting on. But great article.
1. Gewt November 4, 2011 at 7:44 pm
  
  THe PPP are saying there is PROGRESS IN Guyana.
Gewt November 4, 2011 at 9:59 am

I was born in Stabroek and grew up having to pass the Georgetown Prison every day. This prison should have been made a museum long ago. It is time for prison reform in Guyana, for the construction of modern prisons to cater for the new culture of criminality . We need a maximum security prison, to house our narco-criminals, contrabanders and other heinous criminals. We also need a prison for political malcontents, many of whom will become guests of the State after November 28. We need a prison for women, who are increasingly involved in drug-trafficking and traficking in people. SO, if we were to modernise the penal system we need to begin with prison construction. It will provide employment for hundreds over the next three years.And the Georgetown Camp Street Iron -House will at last become a city museum.It´s about time.
1. PouderoyenMan November 5, 2011 at 1:47 pm
  
  One will like to thing that the amount of traveling outside of Guyana by the President and members of this administration they will at least take back some ideas to the country, but “NO”, it seems very much as if their visit is a vacation.
  
  Gewt. I want a job at the jail after Nov 28 to deal with those wanted currupt PPP officials and their friends, they can expect the best and most friendly treatment from this prison officer.
  
  I love it, keep bringing it on Uncle Freddie.
  1. Gewt November 7, 2011 at 7:58 pm
    
    Just Three short weeks left people. Guyana ,this is your moment. Do not let us down.
Guyana Analyst November 4, 2011 at 10:19 am

I appreciate Kisson’s raising of an issue that most Guyanese would shrug off because it has to do with inmates. So many have died and are dying due to bandits, hitmen, road accidents, domestic violence even falling trees that the Guyanese populace has become almost callous to death in our streets and homes – much less the prison. So life is cheap in Guyana but cheaper in the prisons. Tragic.
Fireman649 November 4, 2011 at 2:55 pm

This is a clear case of incompetence on the part of the government and the prison authorities this incident also shows that there is no planning or training on how to deal with such a situation.

I hasten to say that if that prisoner was in a US jail a 911 call would have been made and the response would have been the dispatching of a fire engine and an ambulance with paramedics and emergency medical equipment.

The would have evaluated the patient and if deemed necessary transported him to the hospital.
carl veecock November 4, 2011 at 3:20 pm

Excellent article Freddie.

Quite true, lots of primitiave attitudes abound in official circles.

Once you are in the custody of the State, you seem to have lost all rights.

Again, I get annoyed with the GHRA ( sorry Freddie but I know you have some
sort of thinking about them), but that group is hopeless and incapable of dealing
promptly with any apparent abuses of one’s rights.

To deny medical care to someone in your custody seems such a gross violation
of basic rights, but once your are in State custody, just hope that you survive.

So yes…make this one of the political issues during the campaign.
godzilla123 November 4, 2011 at 4:25 pm

“Guyana is one of the most primitive country in the world ?”I think Kissoon has finally lost his marbles and should read “Peeping Tom”s article in today’s issue.
jeffburke November 4, 2011 at 4:49 pm

Clement said he had too much in his plate , Off course he had . Waiting for that US Visa isn’t that easy , especially when you see you other buddies hoping on the plane and you have to keep watch .
Erskine or what the hell his name is already did a post mortem , he said ” the prisoner died from natural causes ” the only reason he’s still alive is because of the success of that sperm from 30,million . He still has his job . Mr. CN Sharma , this si for you to take to the Public and triumph on this as well .
JeffBurke
jeffburke November 4, 2011 at 5:23 pm

We are primitive > Imagine the Govt giving laptops to people who don’t even have water , electricity and job . Imagine that . In a world where clean drinking water carried the price like oil .
What kind of thinking is dah ? PRIMITIVE
JeffBurke
Guest November 4, 2011 at 11:01 pm

May be the police was beating the living hell out of him that is why he was calling for help.
1. Repatriator November 6, 2011 at 11:27 am
  
  Not defending an inhumane deed but there are no active police at the prison. It’s not them this time!!
  My condolences to the family and friends of the deceased who was a person first and an accused person second.
  The meat and potatoes here is not that the prisoner died but that he was made to die with nothing being done to get him medical attention (which may or not have prevented his death) by a system so primitive and inhumane.
APny November 5, 2011 at 8:37 am

Freddie you are NOT primitive! Are you? Why not write about the pit latrines, the garbage everywhere, the poor begging on the road side, the mad people on the streets, the homeless….What is your objective? To denounce Guyana or the PPP? Perhaps if you work towards improving Guyana, rather than be a hot air balloon, things would be different…It is sad how some folks can become so useless…