A 12-year-old child was allegedly brutally beaten two weeks ago by a resident of Canal Number One Polder on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), in what appears to be a racially motivated attack, and the child’s parents and family are calling on authorities to ensure that justice is served.

Jonathan Forrester, of Lot 2 Public Road, Stanleytown, WBD, sustained a swollen eye, and was left bleeding through his nose, and vomiting as a result of the assault by a young man, who allegedly made racially charged remarks.

Head of Public Education and Awareness at the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), Rene Chester, said he would encourage the parents to make an official report with the Commission, as well as to the Rights of the Child Commission.

“Definitely I would advise them to come to make a report about the matter and even encourage them to have a discussion with the Rights of the Child Commission. The racial aspect of the slur that was used would fall under our ambit, but the fact that it involves a child, the Rights of the Child Commission would have to get involved in that,” Chester noted.

The child said he had never had any prior encounters with the alleged perpetrator, but the person was known to him as he lives in the vicinity of the L’Aventure Secondary School, which Forrester was attending at the time of the assault. The assault occurred a few doors away from the school.

Forrester has not returned to school since the incident, and his parents have since transferred him to the Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School.
“We couldn’t send him to school because he’s scared, he couldn’t even sleep good in the night,” the child’s mother, Semone Forrester, related.

According to the child, on February 7, he was walking with friends when the alleged attacker was having a political conversation, and subsequently began harassing some female students he was with. Jonathan said when he defended the young girls, the young man turned his wrath on him.

“He did troubling the girls them and I said don’t trouble the girls and after then he [made the racially charged comment] and then he start beat me up,” the child recounted.
Jonathan said no one came to his aid during the assault, and afterwards he took himself to a nearby health centre, where a nurse contacted his mother.

The child and his mother made a report at the La Grange Police Station, and he was subsequently taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital for a medical checkup. The police went in search of the suspect but he was not found.

Regional Commander Simon McBean said that while the police have been having difficulties locating the suspect, they have been actively searching.

“Efforts are being made to arrest the suspect, and the parents are being updated on the police action, it’s not that we’re not making efforts. The address we have for him he’s not there. We were even told about an alternative residence; we checked there on several occasions and he’s not there,” McBean explained.