SHE was merely 21, on the cusp of her life, with the expectations of life’s promises yet unfulfilled.  She was the apple of her parents’ eyes, and the idol of her little sister.  She was all things good to many people, including her employers, who described her as a model employee. But to the general society, her life had no value, because she was poor, powerless, and therefore voiceless.
Deokie Pooran was killed on 17 September, 2010 by a ruthless truck driver who had no qualms about simultaneously speeding, overtaking, and using his cell-phone, all while driving his heavy-duty truck on the East Coast railway embankment, despite the latent threat his actions posed to other more vulnerable road-users.
And this threat was realized when, in trying to overtake a car without reducing his speed, while still on his cell-phone, he slammed into Malinia Zameer and her four-year-old son, Kisan, badly injuring them before crushing the life out of Deokie, who was patiently waiting at the corner to cross the road on her way to work at Budget Supermarket.  She was approximately halfway between her home and her place of employment – mere yards away from both locations. But she never again reached her worksite; and she only once more went home to her family – in a coffin, in-transit to the cemetery.
The only substantial contributor to her impoverished family of four, Deokie was responsible for most of the family’s expenses, because her father was ailing, and could only work as an ill-paid watchman, and her mother, Carmen Itwaru, is a housewife who cannot circumnavigate the corridors of the wider society, to which she had never faced exposure, and of which she seems very afraid, especially during this period of intense depression as she mourns her decent and dependable daughter.  Deokie’s baby sister depended on her for most of her educational accessories.
The truck driver’s wife is a policewoman at the Vigilance Police Station, where the report was made; and the family is getting the royal runaround to get justice for the loss of their beloved daughter from the system.  The police traditionally and blatantly close ranks to protect their own, as was recently witnessed when an 11-year-old  juvenile was raped and brutalized by a policeman, as in many other instances.  The Police Force is a microcosm of the wider society – and the Guyanese society has become very lawless.
The case was originally scheduled for November, but the policeman never turned up; and this begs the question of why was the driver out of prison in the first place, after having deprived a human being of her life with his callous and deliberate actions.
It was his choice to speed on the road with a heavy truck; it was his choice to overtake a car without due care or consideration for pedestrians and other road-users while speeding; and it was his choice to use a cell-phone while driving, all criminal actions that led to the death of a worthier human being.
Due to his absence, the case was postponed to 10th February, or so Deokie’s poor and grieving parents were told.  However, when the case was not called up, Deokie’s parents were advised to take their grievance to the Police Complaints Authority, presided over by Justice Cecil Kennard, by whom they were informed that the case had instead been called on the 6th January 2011 and, due to the case jacket not having been found, was further postponed to May of this year.
Deokie was no super-achiever, but she stood out in these times of rude, selfish and disrespectful young people.  She was an exemplary daughter to her poor parents, a “humble and good worker” to her employers, and a superb role model to her little sister.
There were many similarities between Deokie and Sheema Manger, also 21, the latter who was deliberately run down and murdered by a beast who stole her cell-phone. Both worked to help themselves and their families, especially younger siblings, whom they were helping to educate and to whom they were exceptional role models.  Both girls were disciplined and hardworking, continuing to pursue further studies while earning an income; and both girls were taken from their loved ones in brutal ways by beasts; and both were servants of the Lord, who regularly attended church, even serving as Sunday school Teachers.
Sheema Mangar’s only and younger sibling, little brother, Jason,  also was mugged by a hoodlum recently and nearly lost his life for his cell-phone, which was his beloved sister’s last gift to him, along with a desk for his studies.  However, Radica Thakoor and her husband were saved the unimaginable horror of losing both their children to cell-phone thieves and murderers because, although Jason was injured, he is still alive to provide some solace for his grieving parents.
There were many witnesses to the wanton slaying of both girls, but no-one is willing to come forward.  This is a terrible indictment on the Guyanese society.
Sheema Mangar’s parents, especially mom, Radika Thakoor, are running around like headless chickens, trying to get answers and action so that justice will finally be served, and some value be placed by society and the justice system on their daughter’s life.  Deokie Pooran’s parents are simple persons who cannot face up to the bullies in society, and who will not know the first step to take to pursue justice for their daughter; but maybe that is the wiser option, because whether by choice or not, they are too poor to receive justice for their silenced daughters; and they are voiceless in their helplessness in a society and a justice (sic!) system that continues to fail the poor and powerless.