THERE IS TOO MUCH INDIFFERENCE WITHIN OUR SOCIETY

Dec 15, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Two days ago, there was a report about a father beating his daughter to death with a wood. Then yesterday, there was yet another report about a robbery in the goldfields resulting in the death of one person and injuries to others.
There have been other reports of other deaths over the past few days, with one of those attributable to an accident in Bartica. It seems hardly a week goes by that someone in Guyana does not meet an unnatural end.
Twenty to twenty five years ago, each one of these deaths would have been the talk of the country for weeks. Guyanese would have discussed in barbershops, in the markets, in offices and even on the bus about that father who was alleged to have bludgeoned his daughter to death with a piece of wood. The matter would have been discussed repeatedly. Much of the discussion would have been spiced up with speculation, but those closer to the scene of the crime and the relatives may have brought out some history that would have had some bearing on the story. Many would have tried to answer the question as to why a father would attack his own daughter. Eventually, some answers would emerge.
Today, there are deaths upon deaths taking place and while many of these crimes are eventually solved, the answers as to why some altercation took place or the motives and methods employed in a particular robbery often eludes the public attention.
And this is because there are so many deaths that after the media would have completed covering one story, another one arises and thus it is very difficult to pursue each death by unnatural means in details.
Yet the media owes a special responsibility to society to help unravel the mysteries behind these series or murders and accidents that are taking place. It will help our social workers, for example, to better understand fatal domestic violence if they want a better background into the various crimes that are committed.
For example, in that recent case in which a father is alleged to have murdered his daughter, there must have been some reason for the soured relations between the two. There must have been more behind a simple loss of temper.
It is for good journalists to dig deeper behind every story and come up with something that can establish a link between this crime and other similar crimes.
Then there is the case of the miners who were attacked and killed. The gold rush has led many bad elements to find their way into the goldfields seeking to rob miners of their hard-earned riches. Therefore, the question should be asked whether it is not possible to control physical access into the goldfields.
To go on an Amerindian reservation today requires a permit. So why should the movement of persons into the goldfields not be controlled? While this may be difficult to police, a start should be made to try to control the persons who have no legitimate business in the interior finding their way into mining areas and committing crimes.
Perhaps, if there was some system in place that only persons with permits would be allowed into certain mining areas, the incidence of robberies would be reduced because even though the system may be hard to police, persons without permits who are caught risked being locked up for having unauthorized access to the interior.
It is something that the authorities along with the gold and diamond miners need to look at since these days it seems as if the robbers have little regard for life… that they would rob you and still snuff out your life in the process.
The people of Guyana are becoming numb to deaths. And this trend has to be reversed because as a small nation, we have to be concerned about every death.
We have to be concerned about that young lady who was bludgeoned to death and try to get to the bottom of what happened so that if similar conditions appear elsewhere, red flags can be alerted.

We need to be concerned about the safety of our miners because they could well be our brothers and sisters or sons and daughters.
We need to be concerned about fatalities by road accidents and what can be done to improve safety especially in the interior locations where such deaths are increasing.
The media has an important role to play in the process by bringing to light facts and revelations that could provide the basis for a solution to the problem.
We have to be concerned about the number of deaths. Our society is becoming too indifferent and when this happens we know that the social fabric is bound to be ripped apart more easily than normal.

3 thoughts on “THERE IS TOO MUCH INDIFFERENCE WITHIN OUR SOCIETY”

linbol December 15, 2011 at 9:01 am

Robbers and murders are too many now, so none can hold the attention of the people.
melkend December 15, 2011 at 3:31 pm

This is so true. Four babies and a mother died at the New Amsterdam hospital, yet this has not appeared in any paper nor the reported on TV. So sad for Guyana.
1. Premiserable December 15, 2011 at 7:07 pm
  
  PeePPin Tom had mentioned his support for continuity, so there you have it Tom; continuity of the crimnals from govt to police. Your wish for us Guyanese living here came true, guess we have no choice.