Last year saw, yet again, the grisly murders of Guyanese women at the hands of their lovers. Some were brutally raped then strangled; others were stabbed repeatedly, mercilessly until death infiltrated the pools of their eyes.
This scourge claimed the lives of several Guyanese women whose full potential for greatness will remain unlocked. Meanwhile, their family members remain gripped by pain that even justice cannot completely remove.
Lunisa Peters, a 24-year-old from Supenaam, Essequibo Coast, was one of the young women who lost her life September last, at the hands of her jealous ex-boyfriend, Namdram Persaud.
According to media reports, Persaud usually visited his Lunisa at her aunt’s home. She had moved there just a few days after they had ended the relationship. For reasons best known to her, Lunisa still kept the door open to her ex-partner. But one night, during one of his usual visits, he heard her receive a call from a male friend. This enraged him. Fuelled by an evil passion, he dragged her by the hair to the kitchen where he drew a knife, then took her to the bathroom, and ruthlessly stabbed her about the body.
Bibi Zameena Ally, called “Annette” of Lot 15 Crane Old Road, West Coast Demerara was another youthful Guyanese whose life was cut short too soon. She too was knifed to death by her reputed husband, Natram Lalman, who accused her of having an affair. The couple’s three children, ages 19, 16, and seven at the time, witnessed the gruesome murder and saw their grandmother plead with the suspect to hand over the weapon. He attempted to poison himself months later but the quick action of the Guyana Police Force ensured that he survived and was subsequently hauled before the courts.
In December last, Ravindra Ramdeen, 47, was unable to handle being rejected by his partner, Marilyn Singh, 53, following his sexual advances. He felt entitled to her and having his way, so he raped her. The monster in him didn’t stop there. He strangled her and left her lifeless body to be found at her Cummings Lodge home to be found by her brother, Rohit Singh, a security guard.
In the same month, ranks from the Guyana Police Force were on the hunt for a Cuban national who allegedly hammered his girlfriend to death then slit her child’s throat before locking up her sleeping father in their house. Yoel Rodríguez Barrientos, 27, a salesman of Princess Street, Lodge, and Santiago, Cuba, has since been captured and placed before the local courts for the murders of Tara Krishnaran, 34, and her daughter Larissa Singh, 11, at their Princess Street, Lodge home.
Another tragedy, this time in Bartica, saw the death of Carolina Kennedy, 48, a housewife and her two daughters, 5-year-old Mariana and 3-year-old Gabriella Kennedy. They had perished in the fire that was allegedly set by the woman’s reputed husband and the father of the two children, Kenford Downer, called ‘Tall Man’. He reportedly found it overbearing that the woman was allegedly having an affair with another man.
In another shocking instance, a woman who had resided in Linden had thought that a restraining order would keep her partner in check following his abusive antics but she was sorely mistaken. Ten days later, 49-year-old Imogene Gordon, of 117 Prosville Housing Scheme, Wismar, Linden was stabbed to death by her ex-lover, Maxwell Usher. He held suspicions that the shared intimate relationship with 43-year-old Royston John called “Blacko”, also of Prosville Housing Scheme, and Kildonan Village, Corentyne, Berbice. He too was killed by Gordon’s ex-lover.
Another fatal killing was that of Sanesha Lall, a 16-year-old girl who was murdered allegedly by her ex-lover on the Essequibo Coast. She was reportedly stabbed 20 times. It is said that she endured an abusive relationship with the married 34-year-old man of Bounty Hall Essequibo Coast, identified as Kumar. He held suspicions that not only did she have someone else but that she did not love him the same way he did her.
Sadly, these women are just form a small fraction of those whose lives have been taken by this horrifying societal ill and continue to leave unchanged, the latest statistics of a United Nations Women-led study called, “Guyana Women’s Health and Life Experiences Survey (WHLES)” which notes that one in every two women in Guyana, suffer some form of domestic violence.
The startling statistics leaves one to question whether Guyana is losing the war on domestic violence. It also leaves one to ponder, what more needs to be done to effectively address this dreadful scourge.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, Guyana Standard implores you not to be silent. There is a list of agencies below which can be contacted for support. We again urge you to make use of these numbers.
Help and Shelter- 2254731, 2273454, 2278353
Red Thread-2270909, 2272575, 6417326
Blossom Inc.- 6806700
United Bricklayers-333-3322, 333-4524, 6969803
Ministry of Social Protection-2270206, 6401011/1012
