11 years after mash day jailbreak…Special home to be built for heroine Roxanne Winfield

Feb 25, 2013 News

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By Dale Andrews

Eleven years ago, Prison Officer Roxanne Winfield was staring down the road of death; doctors battled desperately while relatives prayed earnestly to save her life.
She had been shot in the head at point blank range by one of five dangerous criminals who subsequently stormed out of the Camp Street Prison, sparking off the most vicious crime wave that this country has ever experienced.

On February 23, 2002, Winfield was in charge of the inner gate while 21-year old Prison Officer Troy Williams was manning the outer gate. Williams was later stabbed to death by the escaping criminals.
Winfield was scheduled to be relieved soon as she had planned to attend the Mashramani Float Parade with her children.
She hadn’t the slightest clue that her life would have been dramatically altered from that day on.
Shortly after midday on Mash Day that year, five desperate criminals, Andrew Douglas, Dale Moore, Shawn Browne, Mark Fraser and Troy Dick, first approached her at her post and demanded the keys to facilitate their escape.
Roxanne stood up to their demand and for that she almost paid the ultimate price.
Although her words were not being enunciated, I understood everything she was trying to tell me during an interview I had with her last year. She folded her fist to demonstrate that she held on to the gate keys.
There are reports that when the men began to physically assault her, she threw the keys away, oblivious to the consequences of that act.
Angered by the stance that Winfield was taking, one of the bandits placed a shotgun to her head and pulled the trigger.
For the next several weeks, Winfield remained in a coma on life support machines. The whole of Guyana prayed for her survival.
When her condition became clearly known, of course there were some who felt that she should not be left to suffer and silently prayed for an end to her suffering.
But her relatives had other plans for her. They were lucky to have the services of famed Caribbean Neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Span, and their faith in God.
There were long vigils that family members kept outside the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital.

I spent a few nights with them and could recall seeing them holding hands and praying for her survival.
Every time the door of the ICU opened, they would anxiously demand answers about her condition from whoever emerged. Such was their desire to see her beat death.
I remember one of her sisters, Patricia, who had arrived from overseas, committing to everything in her power to ensure that Winfield received the treatment she required. For her, there was no question of pulling the plug on Winfield’s life.
“Even if she is a vegetable we will look after her,” the sister has said.
Her survival is testimony to her will to live to fulfill her purpose on earth and the undying show of strength of her family who had vowed to do all that they can to ensure that she was given a chance to see her two children Jamal and Anike become adults.
Roxanne Winfield did not only overcome her injury which has left her permanently disfigured, but she has battled back all the odds and to this day she remains an inspiration to those around her for her indomitable spirit.
Although she has lost the ability to speak and to adequately care for herself, she continues to defy the expectations of many.
Today Roxanne is cared for by her sister Jackie, but there are others who continue to honour her heroism with tangible support.
One such group is the Rotary Club of Stabroek, which had responded to a public call for the donation of a wheelchair to Roxanne Winfield in February last year.
It was during this visit that members of the club decided that Roxanne needed a disability-friendly home to if nothing else, enhance her in-house mobility.
They say it’s better late than never.
Now, one year later and with the help of the Government of Guyana, The Guyana Prison Service, Habitat for Humanity, the Guyana Relief Council, Food for the Poor, TCL, Glass Inc and the Hand in Hand Insurance Company, the Rotary club of Stabroek is able to keep its promise to Roxanne Winfield.
“The home will be disability friendly and suitable for a stalwart public servant such as Roxanne who has provided exemplary service to her country.”
According to the club Miss Winfield, who 11years later has endured a slow but steady recovery, has displayed nothing but strength and courage.
Members of the Rotary Stabroek Club, who visited her several times since the delivery of the wheelchair, were amazed at her positive attitude despite all that she has endured.
The house which is being built at Nabaclis on the East Coast of Demerara on a plot of land left by her deceased father, is expected to be completed in two and a half months.

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