CHRISTALALL Ramlall, 45, remained motionless in his bed at Goed Banana Land, East Canje, in Berbice. The jaws of death had already grabbed him. It was three days since he was last seen by his elder brother Mahendra Persaud, who, like his sibling, lived in poverty in a tenement yard.Ramlall, a fisherman, was experiencing domestic issues with his wife. She could no longer stay in a home where its creaky floors, porous walls and leaking roof failed to be a place of safety or comfort.

There were constant arguments in the home, due to the scarcity of necessities besides constant abuse. Ramlall did not go to sea regularly. When he did, he would return home with some catch, and would remain inland until all the money, some spent on alcohol, were exhausted.

Ramlall’s wife became frustrated with the hopeless situation, and decided to leave on May 17, taking with her their teenage daughter.

The following day, Christalall Ramlall was seen leaving their home. He returned later that afternoon, and went up the stairs before shutting the door. That was the last time he was seen by his siblings with whom he shared an estranged relationship.
No one bothered to check on him until an obnoxious liquid dripped through the flooring of the upper flat.

His brother Mahendra Persaud lived in the disorganized lower flat. He sensed that something may have gone terribly wrong. He, however, plucked the courage to call his brother, as they were not on speaking terms. But his shouts went unanswered. He then maneuvered himself up the shaky stairs and knocked on the door. Still, there was no response. Attempts to open a nearby window were unsuccessful too.

Someone suggested that more force should be used at the door, and so, armed with a four-by-four piece of lumber, the door was banged open.
Persaud was the first to see him; he was lying on his bed, dressed in the very clothes he was last seen wearing. He was motionless, bloated, obnoxious, and evidently dead.

Police were summoned, and they took his body away to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where he was certified dead. On Friday, May 22, Dr Vivikanand Brijmohan reported that Ramlall had ingested a poisonous substance; he had committed suicide.

His siblings, including his brother, wept. They are sorry for the small matters that caused them to be alienated, although they were living in the same yard.

“Meh sorry meh buddy tek he own life; meh sorry me couldn’t ah help he; meh nah know dat he wouldah do da,” one of them lamented.
Ramlall was buried on Saturday at the Reliance Cemetery in East Canje.

By Jeune Bailey-Vankeric

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