PEOPLE living in the residential area of Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, are appealing to the authorities to look into their security as bandits are, once again, plaguing the community. In the latest incident, on Wednesday night, as a woman was making her way home, along Dr. Carter Road, when three young men on bicycles attempted to rob her but she resisted and they hurriedly rode off.
She said it was 20:30 hrs and, as she walked into her street, she observed the trio approaching but did not suspect anything until they ordered her to hand over her valuables, including several pieces of gold jewellery and her BlackBerry phone.
She said she began shouting at them, since she was not willing to give up any of her belongings and started fighting with her assailants.
Bravely, she managed to kick one of the men off his bike and, as other residents came out of their homes to see what was happening, they rode off.
She was halfway in Sixth Street when she was almost robbed but was not afraid because it was not her first confrontation with bandits in the village.
About a week before, she was also attacked by a lone robber, who was walking a few streets from her home but she fended him off, unhurt, too.
Residents said the village is quiet because most people go indoors early and the place appears dismal but has several functioning street lights.
During the day, residents secure their doors and gates with padlocks while, in the night, dogs are left in yards to alert them to any trespassers.
Villagers said, usually at nights, up to Wednesday night, loud gunshots were heard but callers to Vigilance Police Station got rude responses, varying excuses, and sometimes, no investigators visit.
Parents of young girls have to await them on the public road with bicycles or vehicles to take them home safely just as darkness sets in.
The place is also desolate during the day as the majority of people leave home for work, housewives and children are mostly indoors, giving bandits opportunity to survey the village.
Shops in the village also close as early as 19:00hrs on any given day and the streets are usually abandoned in the evening, so it becomes dangerous if commuters are not in motor vehicles.
Within recent times, bandits have been lay waiting for unsuspecting pedestrian villagers returning home and they mostly target women and teenage boys.
Villagers yesterday said, even if the police conduct roving patrols, especially in the nights, they would feel some sense of safety in the dark.
Residents also said that they have observed groups of strange young men riding around the village on bicycles and motorcycles gazing into their homes and yards.
During the crime wave several years ago, the residents of Non Pariel were victims of many armed robberies almost on an everyday basis and a number of men and women were shot and killed by gangs of, sometimes, 14 and more gunmen, who descended on that village.