(via http://www.kaieteurnews.com)
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…
read full at http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=1346
(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, Constable Sears, Constable Joseph and Constable Fordyce shortly after they collected their trophies. Fraser who captained the team was also adjudged the best First Aider.
Delivering the closing remarks at the finals of the Force First Aid Competition at the Tactical Services Unit Drill Square, at Eve Leary, Greene emphasised the importance of first aid to police operations and the need for all members of the force to be continuously trained. According to Greene, first aid is a key to police operations and is something that should never be neglected. “…As the first responder we can take action as quickly as possibly, more or less saving lives by ensuring that persons injured can be treated as quickly as possible,” he explained.
Although he noted that all ranks are exposed to first aid training at the police training college, Greene stressed, “We will be ensuring that ranks that are based on the road will be given courses in first aid.” He recalled that when he joined the force every rank was trained in first aid and upon completion each was given a badge. That training programme was conducted through the Guyana Red Cross Society (GRCS) but it no longer exists.
When asked if he would want to reinstitute it, Greene revealed that he had held talks with GRCS, which now has a very extensive programme. Despite this, he said, all ranks are given some first aid training while in college and the competition serves as a refresher. He congratulated the organisers for maintaining the tradition and charged them to continue pushing it in the right direction…
(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 a birding tour of the Botanical Gardens by ornithologists from the Guyana Tropical Birds Society.
The Kaieteur News reported that the Botanical Gardens have a recorded 179 different species of birds, some of which are endemic to the Guiana Shield. These include the Blood-coloured Woodpecker and the Festival parrot, macaws, limpkins and the black-capped donacobius.
The Botanical Gardens, located in the capital city of Georgetown, is one among five locations in the world with such a high bird population.
(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 approvals granted to Caribbean and Latin American countries.
The announcement was made over the weekend by the board of the fund at a round table discussion in India, and Ramsammy confirmed that US$17.2 million was approved for two grants for Guyana (US$7.1 million grant for the National Tuberculosis Programme and a US$10.1 million for strengthening health systems under the National AIDS Programme).
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:
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National Children’s Conference
Posted By Staff On November 16, 2008
Stop the violence, children say
It was only three words ? stop the violence ? but when 120 Guyanese youths raised their voices to say enough is enough and “we can’t take it any more” it played like a chorus blasting from the Convention Centre at the Ocean View Hotel where the National Children’s Confer-ence wrapped up after two full days of youth empowerment.
From the soft-spoken to the outspoken the youths assembled to say how tired they are of being neglected, physically abused, sexually molested, forced into early labour and left unprotected, among other things. They spoke directly to President Bharrat Jagdeo.
“Mr President, we need more social workers to investigate what is happening with us across the country, we need harsher penalties for child molesters, we are asking you to drop food prices and please, stop the violence!”
Rueshanna Boyce of St Rose’s High School captured their feelings in a gripping address on the opening day of the conference, which was organized by EveryChild Guyana in collaboration with Unicef and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
“If you love us will you hurt us, will you keep us away from school? Will you abuse us and cause us hurts and pains and will you allow us to be victims of child labour? We are loitering on the streets; we are being physically or sexually abused by a stepfather, grandfather, grandmother and worse our own parents… it is obvious that these very adults who should be protecting us children, instead, protect the family’s image,” Boyce said.
Of major concern to the nation’s youths is their protection. The issue of child protection was a recurring one during the two-day national conference, which drew children from across the country. The children pointed to their parents and teachers as their immediate protectors, but singled out government and their communities as important factors in child protection.
In her address to the conference, Boyce said that children are expected to rise above waking up to violence in the homes, being cuffed, kicked and screamed at, even hearing that they are dunces and good for nothings, and still feel good about themselves. She said that while some put up with it, others leave and live on the streets. But more importantly, she said they are making poor choices.
Where are our mentors? Boyce asked the question as did a host of other children who found the courage to speak up during the conference after initial moments of silence. They unanimously agreed that it is right to first seek out mentors in the home and at school and in their communities.
They are also looking around for role models. The children hope they can find Guyanese with integrity, caring spirits, love in their hearts and intelligence to fill these positions. Their optimism is ripe and according to one child, “we need more role models other than mommy.”
Guyanese youths are also calling on the government to make additional provisions in the budget that will give them greater access to education, health care and social services. As they wrapped up the conference and started to present individual views, they called for a stronger education programme and more schools in the less fortunate areas.
“We need more schools in regions nine and ten and not just that, but also better programmes that will allow children there to have the best education,” one child said while onstage articulating what he and his group of peers wanted to see happen.
Even the police were considered. The children said they hope for a police force that is more responsive to them, and they would also like to see more honest police officers. They called on members of the Guyana Police Force to stop taking bribes and for them to investigate matters more thoroughly before making arrests. Though this evoked laughter among some adults in the room, the children noted that they were being very serious.
The conference was aimed at empowering children across the country to speak out on issues affecting them and to stand up as advocates for child protection. Some of the children Stabroek News spoke with are eager to go back into their villages and speak out on the issues.
Omattie Seaforth, County Director of EveryChild Guyana, had noted that the compelling factor for the children’s conference is the high incidence of violence and abuse that is perpetrated against children in the Guyanese society. She said that the idea behind the conference was that children would leave with a clear understanding of child protection issues and how to safeguard themselves.
Seaforth said she had hoped that the children would bring their dreams, hopes, fears, challenges and enthusiasm to the conference, in the spirit of bringing alive the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand, who spoke at the opening of the conference, re-affirmed her commitment to have legislation in place that protects the nation’s children. She said that children’s rights must be respected, but urged the youths to know what those rights are.
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http://www.stabroeknews.com/news/national-children%E2%80%99s-conference/
(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 years of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) on an allowance of £140 a month, is strong-willed and will not be defeated by his ordeal.
However, they fear he and the other hostages — two Jasons, Alan, a father of two from Scotland, and Alec — have been forgotten because of a virtual news blackout imposed by the government. Their full names have been withheld at the request of the Foreign Office’s advice to the families.
Moore’s friends have set up a website — www.4pete.org - which explains why they are defying the official line that publicity could jeopardise efforts to help the hostages.
“It is to be hoped that if more can be known about Pete and the ideals he represented, then pressure can be brought to bear upon those in a position to negotiate for his and his fellow captives’ release,” the site says.
It claims that the cases of Terry Waite, the Church of England envoy freed in Beirut in 1991 after four years in captivity, and Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist who was held in Gaza for four months last year, suggest that sustained campaigns can produce results.
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 the sale of calendars, and we would like to offer one to you! In 2007, we raised close to $1,000 through our calendar sales.
From the money we raised we were able to provide financial assistance to a “Beach Cleanup” day in Georgetown, Guyana. A number of Peace Corps Volunteers and Guyanese volunteered spending the day cleaning up a local beach in the capitol city.
The RPCV International Calendar, produced by fellow returned volunteers from Madison, WI, features the richness and diversity of world cultures through photography, first-hand stories, indigenous designs, country statistics, holidays, celestial events, regional recipes, book reviews and music and film recommendations.
These calendars are on sale for $13.00. Please also include $2.50 for shipping and handling. Proceeds from calendars purchased through FROG are donated to support development projects in Guyana.
To purchase a calendar, simply reply back to me with the following information:
Name
Mailing Address
Phone Number
Email Address
Number of calendars
Form of payment: Check/PayPal
If paying by check please send payment to: 723 12th St. SE #3, Washington, DC 20003.
Make check payable to:
Friends & Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Guyana.
Thanks you!
The Folks of FROG!
(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 way to the re-establishment of the independent press in 1980s Guyana and thereby contributed to the return of democracy in the following decade. As the Stabroek News reminded its readers in an editorial yesterday, “the newspaper entered into a world where freedom of the press had been denied for ten years, and it played a major part in opening up the society.”
