How many more miners must be murdered before there is adequate security in the interior?

Sep 26, 2014 Letters

Dear Editor,
As I read the Tuesday September 23, 2014 Stabroek News headline “Miner died after badly beaten, robbed by gunmen at Issano”, I was left with tears in my eyes and could only ask myself who’s next and how many more miners have to be robbed and killed before the Minister of Home Affairs provides adequate security for the miners in the interior.
While I agree that beefing up security in the interior will not stop all the crimes committed here, many will be prevented and solved, since the perpetrator/s will have to think twice before committing a crime.
A young bread winner has lost his life in his quest for a living. Four minor children are now without a father and the mother becomes a single parent and has to care for four young children.
Miners leave the comfort of their homes on the coastland and venture into the interior because of the scarcity of job opportunity on the coastland to earn a living, with very little assistant from Government. Most of them live in open tents. They have to contend with snakes, ferocious animals, mosquitoes. Many of them end up with vector-borne diseases and other sickness. Many of them lose their lives through accidents in their mining pits.
Over the years, mining has become the backbone of our country’s economy. Earlier this year, when there was a shortfall in gold declaration to the Guyana Gold Board, there were lots of cries from certain sections of the Government that miners are hoarding their gold.
And while miners are robbed and killed at random the Minister of Home Affairs seems to be more interested in hosting his party press conference at Freedom House.
There are only two things in my opinion that can make the Minister behave like that and that is, he is not interested in the security of the miners or he is not au fait with his responsibility.
If indeed it is the latter, then I would just like to enlighten him that as Minister of Home Affairs he in responsible for the internal security of the entire Guyana and as such he has the responsibility of providing adequate security for all of the miners in the interior.
I would recommend to him that he seek advice from some experts in security and device a security plan for the interior.
From all indications as we saw recently in Mahdia during the protest, the Minister is more interested in disbanding peaceful protests and have some of the protesters arrested in the interior than providing security for the citizens.
I am certain that if the said miners at Issano were to stage a peaceful protest there, he would immediately give instructions to deploy riot police to disband the protest and have some of the protesters arrested.
It is just unfortunate that we live in a country where disbanding a protest and having protesters arrested takes precedent over providing security.
The big question is how longer must we endure this?
Mark Crawford

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