DENNIS Ramah, at 64, was a healthy, active and productive businessman who contributed tremendously to his family, his community, and his country. But within minutes, he lost his life to the bullet of a thief, though not without inflicting wounds on his murderer. The owner of the L&D Shopping Centre on Second Street, Chateau Margot , Dennis had fought off two of the bandits, who ran away, before he realized that his wife and daughter-in-law were still in the house at the mercy of other bandits. So he borrowed a cutlass from a neighbour and charged back into the house to rescue his family members, firing chops at one of the armed bandits before he was downed.  He died fighting to save his family.
Community Policing Group Rural Constable, Daveanand Shamraj, 51, of Railway Embankment, Chateau Margot, heard the commotion, armed himself and pursued the bandits, exchanging gunfire all the while. During the fracas, he was wounded and subsequently hospitalized.  These two men were gunned down, with one paying the ultimate price, because they refused to allow predators in society — who enjoy their lives, enriching themselves and their families at the expense of hardworking citizens of the land, who have sacrificed and toiled unremittingly to create their wealth that the vultures in the society covet — to terrorize and brutalize, even kill, innocent persons for the wealth that they (the bandits) have not earned.
These two valorous men are heroes, among many heroes – both civilians and uniformed ranks, who have fallen in the course of engagements with bandits, and these two heroes of Chateau Margot should be rewarded for their courage and heroism.
The youngest son of Dennis Ramah, Joshua, in a telephone interview, spoke movingly to the Chronicle about his father, whom he idolized. According to Joshua, his parents, who initially lived in Rosignol, were very poor when they got married, with the father being a cane harvester at the Blairmont Estate. But because of his inherent drive to succeed, and his penchant for giving of his best at whatever he did, Dennis soon rose to supervisory level and was subsequently promoted to the position of accountant.
When the first child came along, Dennis’ wife, Lorine, began buying and selling produce to augment the family income. Within a matter of a few years, there were six boys to provide for and educate. Dennis and his wife wanted the best for their children, so the couple invested their meagre savings and began trading, taking products from Guyana to neighbouring countries like Suriname, Brazil and Trinidad and purchasing items for re-sale in Guyana.
Soon, they bought a small bus and started commuting on market days to sell at the Annandale, Plaisance and Mahaica markets, waking up in the wee hours of the morning and returning home at ungodly hours of the evening, sometimes sleeping over at Plaisance so as not to miss out on early sales.
In 1996, Dennis decided that in order to provide his children with the best educational options, he needed to move closer to Georgetown, so he relocated his family to rented premises in first Enmore, then Mon Repos, which was central to commuting distance of schools in Georgetown and the University of Guyana (UG), as well as the markets at which they conducted their business, with everyone helping, even the smallest child.
After he had accrued enough money, Dennis bought a plot of land in Chateau Margo and built his home, with living quarters on the upper level, and a shopping centre at ground level. Although the boys did not let their father down and pursued their education unwaveringly, they continued to assist their parents in the family business whenever they could.
The Ramah sons (Kennard, Bernard, Ravindra, Nigel, Robert, and Joshua, aged 38 – 20 in descending order) all pursued professions, with Kennard graduating from GTI (The Guyana Technical Institute) as a fitter/machinist; Bernard from UG as a Mechanical Engineer (having won the President’s Medal, the Chancellor’s Award, and the GAPE Award); Ravindra also from GTI and currently in New York, where he is working and pursuing further studies; Nigel from UG with a degree in Information Technology; and Robert with a degree in Business Management from UG. The baby of the family, Joshua, who graduated as Best Graduating and Best Chemistry Student from President’s College was awarded a Cuban scholarship, but because he was lactose-intolerant and did not eat beef and pork, opted to return home and study medicine at UG instead.
Everyone worked in the Shopping Centre beneath their home and, as usual, every weekend, they took their produce to the various markets. On Saturdays, their father stayed at the Shopping Centre, Nigel and Joshua sold at La Penitence, while their mom and Robert sold at Annandale. On Sundays, Dennis, Robert and Joshua sold at Mahaica, while their mom and Nigel sold at Plaisance.
Joshua said that he has always known his father to work from before 3:00am to late evenings, never taking any rest, until the family bought tickets and forced him to go with his wife on a vacation to New York, from which he returned on 30th August, weeks before he was due back home.
According to Joshua, his father, who celebrated his 64th birthday on October 21 last, was very strong and said that he felt like a sixteen-year-old.  He said that his father chewed turmeric (dye), garlic, and swallowed pieces of aloe every day.  He lamented that the cutlass that his father used to defend his family was very dull, because he is convinced that the outcome would have been very different.
The family has praised the Police for their prompt response this time around, which resulted in the capture of two bandits, with one being shot to death during an exchange of gunfire. Joshua said that another bandit was captured by persons from the neighbourhood. 
He said that on August 8 while their parents were on vacation, bandits had invaded their business and escaped with money and a quantity of phone cards, but that until now, there was no response from the police, although his brother had recognized and identified one of the bandits.
According to Nigel, the response this time by the Police was immediate, with absolute cooperation and great attention to detail, for which he says the entire family is extremely appreciative, because if justice is meted out to the perpetrators and they are prevented from committing such heinous acts against other families, thus probably saving innocent lives in the future, then their father’s life would not go in vain and family members would have some degree of closure.
Joshua said that his father was a kind person who was not tolerant of lazy persons or thieves, but was very helpful to those who were willing to help themselves, and those who were unable to help themselves because of circumstances.  He named orphaned neighbours – the three Sellikie boys, two of whom his father employed. The third, who is differently-able, is looked after by the Ramahs.  Their aunt, Camille Sellikie, who is epileptic, is not really a maid, but treated more as a friend of the family whom they pay to do light chores several times a week as their family prefers to do their own chores.  According to Joshua, who calls Ms Sellikie ‘Aunt Camille’, she has never been treated like a maid, and is very fond of his family.
The last Ramah sibling says that his mom, who is hypertensive and diabetic, is inconsolable at the loss of her loving and beloved companion and partner of 40 years, with whom she has shared hard work, hard times, good times, and the joy that their children have brought them.
Lorine Ramah said that on the night prior to the most tragic day of her family’s life, she and her husband had sat up late to watch wrestling, so after she had prepared her family’s breakfast and seen them off to their various pursuits, she went back to bed for a nap from which she was rudely awakened by a bandit, who pointed a gun at her and demanded money and jewels. According to her, she did not even have time to become alarmed because everything was happening so fast, and the next thing she knew, her beloved husband was lying dead.
Joshua says his dad was a model father who made the best roti that he had ever tasted, and because he is a problematic eater and his father knew that, he could not refuse his roti. He made roti first thing every morning for his family to ensure that Joshua had a proper meal before he left for classes.  Joshua related that he had bade his parents farewell mere minutes before the bandits stormed his home and killed “the best father in the world.” 
Nigel, who visited the Chronicle on Thursday, broke into tears when he spoke of his dad, informing Editor-in-Chief Mark Ramotar, with whom he spent some boyhood days in Enmore, that his dad, even though mortally wounded, had crawled behind the bandits in an effort to forestall their escape, until he finally collapsed. Nigel said that his very strong father was a gentle giant who would stay up to clean up the kitchen each night after everyone had gone to bed, and that his every act was in service to someone, especially members of his beloved family, for whom he made the ultimate sacrifice to protect – until he drew his last breath.
Dennis Ramah’s body will be taken to his home in Rosignol, where he spent most of his life, for burial today.