The peaceful slumber of residents of Lusignan Pasture in the wee hours of the morning of Saturday 26th January, 2008, was shattered by rapid gunfire sounding like thunder during a stormy night.

Terrified residents dived for cover wherever they could shelter themselves from the horror being unleashed on their tiny community, fearfully venturing out long after the horrifying crescendo had subsided, only to confirm their worst fears.

The crowd at Lusignan Wednesday night.

Terrorists who had camped out in neighbouring Buxton had invaded several homes in Lusignan Pasture, leaving a trail of devastated lives and a traumatised community in their wake,

The next day the pictures in the press were stark, with the bloodied bodies of babies lying curled up in the innocence of sleep causing strong men all over the country to break down and cry, and women across every divide to have emotional crises, countrywide. They held their own children close to them, fearful of letting them go for fear that the terrorists may invade their own communities,

That carnage left eleven persons dead, including five children. But two babies who were harbingers of hope in the nation were badly injured Reberto Thomas, who survived the attack, and baby Padmini, born to Vishnu Seecharran and his wife months after the fateful night of the Lusignan massacre, in which Vishnu tragically lost his mother, father, and sister.

Fear stalked the land, justifiably so, because mere weeks after the Lusignan massacre, terror erupted once more, this time in the community of Bartica.

The violent history of our country cannot be ignored in these instances, and these senseless deaths, like those of Minister Sash Sawh, his siblings and security guard, as well as several other murders, including those of police ranks, were directly attributed to political motives, with the terror strategy replicating the blueprint of the X-13 Plan of the sixties.

IAC musicians perform at Lusignan.

But the agony of the nation was palpable and superseded equations of race and politics because, except for a hardened few, Guyanese are generally a humane and compassionate people, caring of each other; and the residents of Lusignan, while agonising over their tragic losses, refuse to condemn, en bloc, their neighbours in Buxton, recognizing that they were themselves victims held hostage to a situation and the authors behind the heinous bestial actions of the ignorant and misinformed perpetrators, because those who planned and directed those murderous attacks are even more guilty than those who pulled the triggers.

The East Coast Pandits, under the aegis of Pt. Haresh Tewari, pray for the souls of the slain victims every year during Pitri Paksh observances, while the IAC has been commemorating the anniversary of the Lusignan and Bartica massacres, initially at both locations, but this year on the Lusginan tarmac, with the support and attendance of survivors of both communities.

The activities are not meant to foster hatred, but to celebrate the lives of those lost, to generate hope and strengthen the spirit of those left behind, and to heal the nation; even while marking a very sad day in this country when we all, as a collective nation, lost, because no one wins in such scenarios, but the havoc that was wreaked leaves ineradicable scars, albeit forgiveness is possible and advocated as a way to heal the nation’s wounds and advance the way forward as a united people committed to peaceful co-existence in this country we all call home.

Wednesday evening’s third anniversary commemorative ceremony featured a beautiful rendition of Anup Jalota’s “Aisay Lagay Lagan”, remarks by Lusignan-based Abu Bakr Hanif,, a hymn by Delisa Jodhan, remarks by Pastor Balgobin Ragnauth, a quaseeda by Zahid Ally, remarks by Bishop Juan Edgehill of the ERC, a poem by Miss Ashlee Persaud, remarks by Pt. Ravi Persaud Tewari, a song “Toot Gayee Hai Mala”, meaning that life is like a garland strung by God, which was beautifully rendered by Jagdesh Sukhu, accompanied by himself on the harmonium, Aditya Persaud on the tabla, and Kampta Persaud on the dhantal, remarks by Bibi Baksh, daughter of slain victim of the Lusignan massacre, Shaleem Baksh, and Mohamed Rafi’s “The World is One,” was melodiously sung by Kampta Persaud,

Robert Persaud addresses the Lusignan crowd.

The programme concluded with prayers by Haji Shaheed Mohamed, Pastor Ram, and Pt Ravi, representing the three major faiths in Guyana.

Survivors of the Bartica massacre had trave
lled from their various locations to join in the commemorative activities.

In his remarks, the Moulana said that tragic incidents in the lives of mankind touch and rejuvenate the human spirit.

Pastor Ragnauth quoted from the Book of Genesis and alluded to Cain, who killed his brother Abel. He said that Abel’s blood cried out for justice and that God hates hands that shed innocent blood, but that Justice belongs to God, who said “vengeance is mine.”

Bishop Juan Edgehill drew a poignant picture of eleven funerals being conducted on the Lusignan tarmac in January of 2008. He said that, despite the agony of the survivors, at no time did he detect feelings of hatred, or a desire for revenge. He alluded to the intellectual authors of the killings and wanton destruction in Guyana and said that their calls for division in the country will not succeed because, by and large, Guyanese want to live together in peaceful co-existence.

The Bishop said that Guyana will emerge stronger from these experiences because of the general awareness that incidents like these can destroy our nation and that we need to unite to root out hatred from our society.

Pt. Ravi recalled that, subsequent to the bloodbath at Lusignan, the East Coast pandits, spearheaded by Pt. Haresh Tewari, had organized a Pitri Paksh santangh on the Lusignan tarmac to pray for the souls of the departed, and this has become an annual traditional event, attended by thousands across every divide. He lauded the IAC for their initiative to commemorate the anniversary of the Lusignan and Bartica massacres at the locations, because of the Hindu belief that God resides in the place and country of our birth, hence the honour accorded Dharti Maa (Mother of the earth). This is why, he posited, Lusignan will continue to be the centre of such activities.

He applauded the ecumenical and broad-based nature of the commemorative activities, and said that he is supportive of the IAC’s initiative to bring people to pray together for the good of the general society. However, he adjured that speeches have to be put into action so as to be effective and build a better destiny for the Guyanese people.

Pt. Ravi’s message of hope is that, while death is inevitable, it is not necessarily indicative of the end of life, because the end of life is not the disintegration of our physical form, but a loss of character and substance. Within this context, according to the learned pandit, the murdered victims of Lusignan will never die, but they were sacrificed for a higher purpose, which is yet evolving – and this annual coming together of people in unity to celebrate their lives is merely one of them.

Two of the youngest but most popular Ministers in the Cabinet, Irfaan Ali and Robert Persaud, also made presentations.

Minister of Water and Housing, Irfaan Ali, in a very moving presentation, said that Guyanese have a collective responsibility toward each other, and that such tragic occurrences in our history are part of our nation’s growing pains; but he proffered that, while it is easy to hate, it is very hard to forgive; but forgive we must if we are to heal and move forward.

According to Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, who is performing the duties of Prime Minister, while going about the “hustle and bustle” of our daily lives, we sometimes ignore the beauty of Guyana and the Guyanese people, and our ability as a people to overcome tragedies and rise up after going through horrible and sometimes inexplicable experiences, which makes us a very unique and strong nation..

Making reference to the horrendous killings at Lusignan and Bartica two years ago, the Minister said that these commemorative activities serve to demonstrate to Guyana, and to the world at large, that as a people, we can come together and reflect on such tragedies and then resolve to come together to move forward.

He alluded to Minister Irfaan’s statement that, in other parts of the world, such an incident would have aroused retaliatory measures that would have taken the entire country down a horrific and very destructive path, with unimaginable consequences.

But coming out of the various incidents of slaughter in various parts of our country, there emerged instead strength of purpose of the Guyanese people not to allow such atrocities to make them become beasts in human form, like the murderers of the innocents and the intellectual authors of these murderous rampages, because people were determined to focus on the good and to eschew hatred, and that, as a nation, we were able to conquer those elements who are trying to create enmity and precipitate bloodbaths to drown the Guyanese nation.

Minister Persaud warned of the need to be vigilant, because the threat is merely dormant, and not totally extinguished. He said lurking in the shadows are forces who want us to revert to episodes and events that devastated the communities of Lusignan and Bartica two years ago.

The Minister said that if we let our guard down we run the risk of our communities being overrun by evil forces and our country being imperiled.

He recalled the feeling of overwhelming helplessness he felt in the aftermath of each murderous episode in our country when he witnessed the pain of those who lost loved ones, not knowing what else to do to alleviate the anguish, so visible and real, that was being suffered by the survivors.

He spoke of the strength of the survivors in the face of such immeasurable agony in itself providing some degree of comfort, alluding to Bishop Edgehill’s encouragement to forgive those who harm you, but he reiterated the warning that, while forgiving, one must never forget, for that way lay danger, as only by remembering the victims, the survivors, the experiences of slaughter, could we protect ourselves collectively as a nation.

Recalling his forays into Buxton, which he referred to as a community of victims who were tormented and held hostage, and his interactions with the residents of that community, the Minister said that he went there to reach out to a suffering people in their time of need, notwithstanding the security threats from the elements who were holding the community
ransom, making it notorious in the eyes of the world, and the goodness of the people there, and their collective suffering, was highly visible, eliciting much sympathy from himself and his team.

Those were the incidents and experiences, according to the Minister, that are the real indicators of our strength as a nation.

Minister Persaud alluded to the horrendous, callous nature of the killings of the innocent victims and said that these observances in no way lessen the recognition of other lives lost in this senseless madness, such as police ranks killed while executing their duty, Minister Sash Sawh, and many other victims of Guyana’s terrorists. These commemorative activities are occasions used to hallmark the evil forces who try to destroy our country and foster hatred in the hearts of the Guyanese people, as well as a reminder of what could happen if we allow the destructive forces to divide us.

According to Minister Persaud, they could only have victory if we allow them to engender hatred for each other in our hearts.

“We share the grief,” said the Minister, “and our Government is continually taking precautions and providing logistical and other support to the security sector in an attempt to stymie such murderous actions and enhance peaceful and harmonious co-existence in the future in this country that we all call home.”

The Minister, in closing, issued a final warning to the elements who want to divide and disrupt peace in the land, and said that the peoples of Lusignan, Bartica, and every community should never relax their guards because the threat from the architects of these murderous acts is real and ever-present.

Despite a boycott call from opposition forces, the event was attended by hundreds of people across every divide in the land, with standing room only, which is an indication that Guyanese are unified in solidarity with each other, and are using this platform to send a message to hate-mongers that this hate-fest will not be tolerated, because, as the Bishop said, we are united by our motto: “One People, One Nation, with One Destiny.”