Moruka
The eager wait for a return to normalcy in Region One’s (Barima/ Waini) North West district has been interrupted once more as another girl, 13-year-old Sabrina Rahaman, fell victim to the mystery illness plaguing the community.

She was attacked at her home in Kwabanna, approximately 20 miles from Moruka, after she went home ahead of the school break.

The teenager was one of the first affected in October 2008 when the illness returned after being experienced three years ago.

After then it receded and was not seen again until February last.

For this year, since February, the mystery illness has been causing distress and has been affecting, more specifically, the female students of Santa Rosa Secondary School.

When the attacks started, only the girls in the dormitories of the Santa Rosa Secondary School were affected; but that changed in February when the girls at the school began falling victims to the attacks also.

To date, more than 67 of them from both the dormitories and the school, between the ages of 13 and 18, have been afflicted by the medically undiagnosed complaint.

Analyses done by health personnel were unsuccessful in ascertaining the cause of the affliction which showed no obvious genetic or other links nor resulted in long term physical consequences.

However, its origin remains a source of controversy as opinions differ on whether the illness is spiritual or psychological, as in a case of mass hysteria.

According to the girl’s mother, Mrs. Jean Rahaman, who is also the dorm mother of the Santa Rosa Secondary School’s dormitories, the mystery illness can only be described as something within the paranormal realm.

“The attack was serious as it lasted for four hours and her dreams are strange,” the elder Rahaman said.

The woman explained that preceding the attack, the teen complained of a headache and “bad feelings” and on her way to her bedroom she fell.

“He aunt rushed to her when she fell down but when she reached to her Sabrina’s eyes were turned up and she was unconscious,” the girl’s mother said.

Mrs. Rahaman explained that a day before Sabrina was taken to the local clinic and the health worker, Mrs. Elaine Thomas, told her the only problem was that her blood pressure was a little below normal.

“We don’t know what happened but we will be taking her to another doctor in Georgetown to get another opinion,” she said.

The mother pointed out too that the girl was tormented by weird dreams centered on a male figure that seemingly wanted to hurt her.

“Sabrina told me that she was having bad dreams where a man was telling her that he was glad that he found where she was living and he was going to stay with her,” the girl’s mother said.

Since the family is of the opinion that the illness is spiritual, Mrs. Rahaman stated that she reverted to prayers and old traditional Amerindian ways to deal with the illness.

The mother said, “We are with the Full Gospel Church so we prayed for her and she seems to be doing fine.”

She added that her daughter is weak and pale.

The elder Rahaman noted that since October 2008, Sabrina has been attacked 16 times and was unable to sit the National Third Form examinations last week.