Latest update January 1st, 2025 1:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

Violence spoiled this Christmas

Dec 28, 2013 Editorial

 
The Christmas season must go down as one of the most violent in the history of this country. Generally, people concentrate on making a reality of the general slogan that this is the season of peace and goodwill.
Of course there would be the excesses; people would drive at excessive speeds as they try to capitalize on the crowds. These are the people who would cause the smash ups during the season. In fact, the police records always showed a spike at this time of the year when it comes to accidents.
Then there are the excessive bouts of drinking. Drunk drivers are responsible for most of the road deaths in the country.
Yet these calamities did not make this season one of the most violent. Rather the general attitude of the people contributes to this perception. For one, gunmen made life miserable for many. They robbed and beat at least three families. One of the households included holidaying Guyanese. The gunmen relieved the victims of cash and jewelry and where the victims offered resistance, the gunmen were not averse to discharging a few rounds in their direction.
Two men were shot in the hands and legs and in one case; a few people were beaten in their heads with guns. In every case where there was a robbery, the victims spoke of being threatened with guns. The clerk who was relieved of $17 million and the staff of the Works Ministry who were relieved of nearly $8 million all spoke of being at the wrong end of guns.
Yet those incidents paled into insignificance when the nation recalled the killings, most of which occurred in the hinterland locations of Guyana.  A man was beaten to death by two friends. His crime was merely to get the two incensed.
A young man killed a miner two days before Christmas Day because he wanted to rob the miner. There was no altercation, but simply a case of someone wanting what the other possessed. The attack was cowardly (the killer hid and attacked the miner from the back) then stabbed him in the neck.
But perhaps the bulk of the violence involved men and women, people who might have shared a relationship at one time. There were two men who slashed their spouses’ throats. In one case the woman had moved on in her relationship, opting to share her life with a younger man.
There are now reports that the killer had planned to kill both the woman and her new spouse during this Christmas season.  The following day another man slit his spouse’s throat. He too was said to be reacting in a fit of jealous rage. Again the killing occurred mere hours before Christmas Day but this time the killer took his own life.
A man shoots his seventeen-year-old former lover because she refuses to continue a relationship that she had ended some months ago. A woman kills a man over a $1,000 plate of food; and the list goes on.
What is most worrying is the fact that the killers are young people.
On Christmas Day a 23-year-old man is stabbed to death during a drinking session. This would have brought to five, the number of people who died during the three days between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
A few weeks earlier another young man barely out of his teens killed his step sister because she dared to report to the police that the killer had molested her daughter. The woman was not the only victim; the young killer also stabbed and killed the woman’s son.
We must now ask ourselves about this spate of killing, this utter disregard for human life. It comes with the decline in society; when there is a decline immorality. Of course, sociologists insist that this decline coincides with lower educational standards.
The people working in the goldfields and chasing money tend to be very impatient. This may explain why they killed so violently during the Christmas holidays. They could not go home.

 

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for Guyanese professional boxing

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for Guyanese professional...

Dec 31, 2024

By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports- In the rich tapestry of Guyanese sports, few names shine as brightly as Keevin Allicock. A prodigious talent with the rare blend of skill, charisma, and grit, Allicock...
Read More
Guyana Harpy Eagles begin Fitness Preparation for 2025 CWI Regional Four-Day Tournament

Guyana Harpy Eagles begin Fitness Preparation for...

Dec 31, 2024

The business end has arrived, a place in the final is at stake tomorrow night

The business end has arrived, a place in the...

Dec 31, 2024

Thirteen-year-old benefits from Project “Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”

Thirteen-year-old benefits from Project...

Dec 31, 2024

Milerock stop Winners Connection 9-3 behind Drakes 5 goal spree, Botafago humble Capital Fc 8-3

Milerock stop Winners Connection 9-3 behind...

Dec 31, 2024

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO against Ramirez

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO...

Dec 30, 2024

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]