GUIDED by traditional patterns, churches and other places of religion and holy commune are not usually visited by the unwelcome persons of robbers and acts of violence. Not even in times of civil unrest, unless if it entails sectarian violence, where actions of a retaliatory nature do occur on such sacred sites.

But it is well known that in states where persons would have sought refuge in places of worship, such precincts were attacked without due regard, with horrific results. There is the well-known case of 5,000 persons who sought refuge in a church at Ntarama, during the Rwanda genocide – they were all killed by machete and grenade attacks. Such then, are brutalities that are related to specific situations of national extremes.
Thus despite the high levels of crime and criminal violence experienced in Guyana, very few citizens would have been prepared for the news of last Sunday’s early morning robbery attack, at the St Phillip’s Church, shocking and unbelievable, as much as it would have been bold and brazen. We stand to be corrected by stating that there have been a few instances of places of worship being broken into, but not in which worshippers were robbed of personal effects.
And since such sanctity, as alluded to above, is the very last place where such an unholy attack is expected, then the worshippers who would have been unprepared for such a numbing encounter would have surely been traumatised into disbelief. After all, these are generally staunch parishioners, most of decades old vintage, who would have been accustomed to worshipping every Sunday, punctiliously, without thought of such an occurring heresy.
Are such acts signs of the times, as are often intoned; or is it a degeneration of societal morals? Whatever the conclusion/interpretation, Sunday’s robbery points to the more than growing realisation of abysmal deterioration of both personal and societal values, where respect for institutions are being trampled upon. And it points to that great social unit, the family, from which all communities, and hence societies, evolve.
The reality is that the family is no longer that moral producer of young progeny with that once talked about moral rectitude that has been the guiding light for those of the older generation. Though we agree that this degeneration is worldwide, it is right that we comment on the national experience.
From an eyewitness’s account, it can be deduced that the perpetrators of this outrage may be youths, since they have taken over the criminal landscape, with most acts of robbery, and some murders, now attributed to them. Again, this points to the home; and we candidly ask whether parents are doing the job expected of them.
Sure enough, daily life is a challenge for many, yet such is not an excuse for allowing our young to become involved in acts of criminality, where quite a number have already been felled by police fire. Far too many parents, because of adverse circumstances, allow their offspring to drift. Although many do go the extra mile, even against the odds, for a better life for their children, there is the other category that holds their condition as an excuse and a reason for their young to commit illegalities, from which proceeds they do benefit. Again, not all parents, whatever the adversities, lend support to their young’s dangerous life style. They are known to upbraid, with strong reprimands. But not all are that morally strong in taking such an uncompromising line. For them, survival by any means becomes a way of life.
This is very unfortunate, because with every act these lads commit, they become emboldened for even bigger transgressions, leading to an inevitable clash with the law, imprisonment, but with ultimate tragedy always being a definite possibility.
Parents of such youths should understand the heavy moral responsibility they hold, when such instances do occur, especially when they would have been complicit in such acts their sons commit.
We sincerely hope that the robbery committed at the St. Philip’s Church is not replicated at other places of worship, or that armed guards, for pre-emptive reasons, start appearing at the doors of places of worship. After all, persons should not have to offer their spiritual supplications in such a stressful environment. Or are we going to have worshippers, strapping on their irons, in anticipation of being attacked by robbers? It will be a very sad day for religion in this country, should such become a norm.