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Bartica Massacre …Victim’s wife finally gets closure
The wife of Edwin Gilkes says that she has finally gotten closure after her husband was brutally murdered in February, 2008, when a gang of armed men went on a shooting spree in Bartica, killing 12 persons, including three police officers.
Debra Gilkes, wife of the deceased Edwin Gilkes
Debra Gilkes of Fifth Avenue, Bartica, said that she is much better at dealing with the grief that has affected her for many. The mother of four said that memories come rushing back every February 17, the date the tragedy took place. Gilkes said that she always feels literally sick on that day and always craves for it to end.
Recounting the events of that fateful day, Gilkes stated that she was on the road when she received a call asking her to come home. “When I went home he was just lying there lifeless.”
Gilkes said while the sight of her husband lying dead is still etched in her memory, it was her desire to move on and not to wallow in self pity that has brought her so far, emotionally.
“I had to find the strength to move on; he (Edwin) would have wanted that.”
Gilkes said that her strong Christian faith also played an integral role in how she dealt with her loss. She recalled vividly asking her Creator to forgive those who killed her husband.
The woman said she was angry but she was not bitter and she made a special effort to ensure that she was not consumed by bitterness, since she needed to focus on the four children that she and the deceased shared.
Mrs Gilkes said she needed to work so that the mortgage that was taken to build the house in which she currently resides, was taken care of since she was now the only breadwinner, something that she never worried about when her husband was alive.
The widow recalls days of selling from clothes to confectionaries, to supplement her wages that she receives from her current employer.
About the death sentences that were handed down to Mark Royden Williams called Durant or Smallie, and Dennis Williams, called Anaconda, for the Bartica killings, Gilkes said that it did not make her feel any better but she felt justice was served. Referring to the killers and their punishment she said, “If you do the crime you have to deal with the consequences”.
To young men who are prone to criminality, Mrs Giles’ advice them to them is to think about their action and the effects it will have on their family.
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