I don’t like to see our educated citizens die untimely deaths. Just a month or so shy of the first anniversary of young Aliya Bulkhan’s jump over the Kaieteur Falls, comes another tragedy of epic proportions; another educated scholar-in-the-making has died, a cruel and horrible death, just like a scene right out from one of those sadistic horror movies like the ‘Saw’ franchise. Guyana needs educated people. There are too many of us who are ignorant and peddle that ignorance in unimaginable ways. Guyana lost immensely when Dr Desrey Fox, Aliya Bulkhan and Neesa Gopaul died.
Progress in nation- building cannot be possible with ordinary minds. We need our educated people, therefore all must strive for this much sought after quality.
The Ministry which is currently under focus right now has failed big time. Now we are hearing all the ‘couldda wouldda shoulddas’. But it’s all too late now. I am sure the Ministry is now on it’s Ps and Qs with such matters. If there’s a good time to report a family abuse or child abuse matter, then it’s now because the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security would be jumping at any and every red flag in any case brought before them, all thanks to the deceased Ms Gopaul. Sadly, she had to pay the price.
And to the teachers of Ms Gopaul, shame on them I say. Surely, they did not know this student enough, as every teacher is called upon to know their students. If proper tabs were kept on the young lady’s ‘oddities’ and behaviour by her teachers, with whom she spent most of her waking hours, then perhaps…perhaps the outcome would have been different. Since Ms Gopaul was part of the social networking group Facebook, then why hasn’t the police started to ‘crack’ into her account with the aim of combing it for anything ‘strange’ which might surface in her comments to friends, even messages and others’ comments on her statuses. It could be a wild goose chase, but it’s worth a try. I see the media has made use of the profile photo on Facebook, the photo we see each day in the press.
Guyana is not the only place where these crimes of torture take place. In 2007, a middle- class Connecticut family spent 8 terrifying hours in their home. The father had been tied up in his basement, with blood gushing out of a wound on his face (after being hit four to five times with a baseball bat), while the young mother of his children was being raped repeatedly upstairs in their bedroom, and his daughters tortured. The intruders searched the house, found bank records which revealed that the family had up to $30,000 at the bank, spent the night and took the mother to the bank the next morning, forcing her to withdraw some $9,000. She alerted the teller who called 911. Police were immediately dispatched to the home but the officers, after being deceived by the “serene” appearance of the home just cordoned off the home, watched and waited. They watched, not knowing that one of the captors were raping the 16- year-old daughter and beating the mother.
It was only when the intruders set the home on fire and they saw smoke that they (the police) knew something was amiss. They left through the back door but were hunted down by the cops and found. Only the father, who was being held in the basement, survived. The mom and her two daughters burnt to death, after they had been repeatedly raped. The Feds came in for some harsh criticisms as well as the authorities for not handling the matter in a way which might have prevented certain things from happening.
The trial concluded this past week. The verdict was handed down a few hours ago. The main suspect was found guilty and could be sentenced to death. The other suspect would go on trial soon.
Any person or entity found culpable of the end result of the sorry life of Ms Gopaul should also face a full investigation and, if possible, full force of the law too.
If there is any justice in Guyana—any at all—the person or persons responsible for this vile act against young Neesa Gopaul would be put to justice, and I mean real justice! Much evidence in this case points to certain individuals. Guyana is watching. This is the time for the police force and the judiciary to prove to this country that they’re worth their salt.
Every time I read stories like that of dead Neesa Gopaul, my support for the death penalty gets stronger and stronger. I don’t care what people say. I am for it and will always support it. It has worked in Islamic countries where crime is virtually non- existent.
Those who say that they are fighting for human rights in Guyana might disagree with me here. I care not. People’s lives just cannot be snuffed out like in such gruesome manner.  There must be a price to pay. We need to set examples of a few, perhaps starting with the conspirators of this crime. Hang ‘em high!