Archive for November, 2008

Evidence has emerged that the gang controlled by Guyana’s most wanted man, Rondell ‘Fine Man’ Rawlins, consists mainly of teenage boys who fled from their homes in the village of Buxton.

Recent evidence has brought out that many of the members of the gang are no more than 17 years old. Dwayne Sancho, who was captured by the security forces on Monday in a trail near Ituni, is only 14 years old, while Otis Fiffee, called ‘Mud Up,’ who was killed during the initial raid two Fridays ago, and Robin Chung, called ‘Chung Boy’ were mere 17 and 16 years old respectively.

Initially, Fiffee’s age was stated as 21 years old; however, when this newspaper visited Buxton yesterday during his funeral, the age on his coffin was stated as 17. His parents had given the earlier age.
There is evidence that Rawlins and other senior members of his gang had initially recruited the teenagers as look-outs while the gang was hiding out in the village of Buxton.

After they were flushed out by the security forces, some of the young men, who were already a part of the gang, went with them.

The parents of these young men, during recent interviews, indicated that their children left their homes despite several pleas for them to refrain from the criminal activities.

…

Eyewitnesses to the Bartica massacre had indicated that most of the gunmen were ‘young boys’.
But what could have led to these young men throwing their lives away to join a gang, knowing that the consequences invariably lead to certain death?

Many villagers are of the opinion that this is a result of constant Police harassment and profiling of the youths of Buxton. The young men became sympathizers with the gunmen…

(via stabroeknews.com) Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene yesterday said the force is ensuring that traffic police, usually the first responders to road accidents, receive first aid training. Smellie winner! After almost two hours of competition in First Aid, `B’ Division (Berbice) walked away with the Smellie Cup yesterday. Photographer Jules Gibson photographed Lance Corporal Fraser, [...]

(via caribbeannetnews.com) Guyana has more than 800 species of birds and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) are actively promoting the development of birding tourism in the country. November is being identified as Tourism Awareness Month and, as part of a series of activities, the authorities have conducted [...]

(via caribbeannetnews.com) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has approved 94 new grants worth US$ 2.75B for countries to access over the next two years, and Guyana is among the beneficiaries taking some US$ 17M of the aid. However, Guyana’s Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, is concerned about the low level of [...]

There is so much I learned from my years in Guyana, but the lesson which had it’s biggest impact on me – my life, my career – was that youth are absolutely vital to creating and sustaining positive change. Today I read an article from Starbroek News (online) that reminded me of this lesson: ——– [...]

(via timesonline.co.uk) Friends of a motorcycle- loving computer consultant who was kidnapped with his bodyguards as he worked in Iraq’s finance ministry 18 months ago are launching a campaign to increase pressure for the men’s release. They say Peter Moore, 32, who took a lucrative job in Baghdad to pay off his student loan after [...]

I invite you to take part in our annual Friends & RPCVs of Guyana calendar sales drive. FROG is in its second year as a non-profit and we’re very excited for the challenges and triumphs we will face in the upcoming year. FROG is currently looking to raise funds for development activities in Guyana through [...]

(via globalvoicesonline.org) David de Caires, the founder and editor-in-chief of the independent Guyanese newspaper the Stabroek News, and one of the Caribbean’s strongest advocates for press freedom, died on Saturday 1 November. As the news spread across the Caribbean and the Guyanese diaspora, there was an outpouring of tributes to the man who led the [...]