Why have these destroyed young people so cruelly?

Nov 09, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
I had no clue that Guyana was incarcerating children and teenagers for wandering until I read the Freddie Kissoon column, “Wandering, wondering, wanderlust and the Overdeveloped State” in your newspaper yesterday. I would like to share with those who didn’t read that column the following passage; “The Rights of the Child Commission and the Women and Gender Equality Commission want the criminal charge of wandering to be removed from the statute books. The statistics on incarceration from wandering vividly brings into focus the role of the Overdeveloped State.
According to Commissioner Nicole Cole, 70 percent of the youths in confinement at the New Opportunity Corp (NOC) have been arrested by the police for wandering. This makes you wonder if the Overdeveloped State ever changed even in minimal ways since Independence 50 years ago.
Cole goes on to say hair-raising things which no doubt causes you to wonder about whether the Overdeveloped State will ever wither away (one of the seminal predictions of Karl Marx) from Guyana. She stated that the police just pick up these boys and girls, charge them with wandering and they end up in the NOC. These children, according to Cole, on being arrested were not afforded opportunities to seek legal assistance. It goes without saying that these boys and girls are all from working class families and most likely in low income areas.
What is important to note about the Overdeveloped State is that it is coercive and not concerned with the provision of service. Relevant here is to note that Cole said that the children are not allowed legal help when picked and there is no provision for psychological treatment while at the NOC.
Reminds you of Alavi’s assertion that security and coercion are what drive the Overdeveloped State not service. So 50 years after Independence, we still arrest poor people’s offspring with the criminal offence of wandering. Makes you wonder; how does one cope with living with the Overdeveloped State.”
Well, Mr Harris, I cannot express how I feel about what I have quoted above. I functioned in the area of social work, long before I migrated, and in my time, I knew that the parents would have been contacted. What Freddie Kissoon quotes Ms. Cole as saying needs immediate investigation. Are you telling me these children are picked up and just dumped into the NOC without being charged and given a hearing in front of a magistrate?
I can tell you Mr. Harris, I am no philosopher so I don’t understand all the philosophical stuff that Mr. Kissoon pours out so regularly in his column. Some I pay attention to because it educates you, some I think you need training in philosophy to understand, and some the normal mind just cannot understand, and I count myself as having a normal mind. When you understand what Kissoon says, you are certainly enlightened about what takes place in Guyana. I hope Mr. Kissoon doesn’t get me wrong. You don’t want to take on Mr. Kissoon. He never stops and you will never win. I want him to know though he writes about philosophical subjects which are difficult to comprehend; I do admire his life greatly.
I will not research what the Overdeveloped State means. I don’t live in Guyana and have no interest in the science of politics, but I am still to recover from the article’s highlight of children being charged and sent to the NOC for wandering without their parents appearing in front of a magistrate. If Mr. Kissoon has republished accurately what Ms. Cole has said, then why has there been an ongoing debate as to why we continue to have so many young people committing criminal robberies? It isn’t self-evident. You destroy these children when you lock them up just because they couldn’t stand what was taking place in their homes day in, night in and they leave. Not because you see them on the streets looking disoriented that gives the police the right to put them in the NOC for months and years. When they come out, they are different from when they went in. When they went in they were in need of help. When they come out, God help the society.
I like outside of Guyana and I am making a special appeal to the Guyanese people stop this destruction of our young children. How could we have destroyed them so cruelly as described by Ms. Cole. I am not due to come to Guyana for another two years but I may very well hasten my trip. My Lord, Mr. Harris, what has my country come to?
Desiree Cynthia Burnett

Latest News

Why have these destroyed young people so cruelly?

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

NSC, Office of the DPP to host Criminal Law and Sexual Offences Act...

Lucas Chung maintains strong standing at 2nd...

Farm Supplies Ltd. supports Bartica Regatta 2025

Legislation and Investment: Trinidad to Brazil,...

Three more matches billed for this weekend

CM Khan rules at 2025 National Blitz Chess...

Features/Columnists

“One Guyana” is no less a national slogan than “Green Guyana”

If Guyana’s President Ali is the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”, who is the Putin?

Partner v. investor

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Why have these destroyed young people so cruelly?

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]