HARDLY two months have elapsed, and the dark task I set myself of compiling a list of gruesome crimes is taking a toll on me psychologically. I have been warned of slipping into depression or risk becoming de-sensitised in the process, but there are compelling truths to be shared, truths which discerning Guyanese can vividly see.

However, some people will tune out of this bloody crackle, refusing to read the horrendous stories, for fear of losing their fragile sense of optimism and happiness. One can’t blame them, especially when murders and rapes are becoming too frequent as to be normal. Old news some will say.
Yet, with the loss of life and rape, we ought to retain our concern, our sense of shock, for only then can we hold a realistic view of our society, and more importantly, our humanity. How, for instance, can we possibly turn askance of the tragedy of a wife and her three children chopped, throat slit and left on the bed?  Or, a poor Amerindian woman in her 40s, walking naked in front of Parliament Building, because she is mentally challenged and of the risk in getting raped and murdered? There can be no excuse to turn away, certainly not if we wish to bring public awareness to the deadly impulses coursing through this land.
The most obvious and detestable of our educational practices, which some still champion, is corporal punishment. It has been a while since I last visited a classroom in Guyana, but the use of the switch to instil knowledge and discipline leaves scars on the psyche, which eventually festers into anxiety, low self-esteem, and self-loathing. Renowned psychologist, Alice Miller, has awakened us to the fact that spankings, beatings and humiliation of any kind will “injure the integrity and dignity of a child, even if their consequences are not visible right away” but for some reason, we view that as counter-intuitive. Could it be that as a result of this deflated sense of self that innocent, born humans are ignoring the mentally ill woman naked in the eyes of the public?
Most shockingly though is that our methods of taking care of  mentally challenged people is largely based on dominating, humiliating and unkind. There is a lot of social rhetoric about taking the mentally ill off the street, and I know of cases where the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security has not been vigilant.
Only when you have the knowledge do you have the power to change people. The basic reason people hate others because of their condition, is that they are ignorant. This is most evident in biases against Amerindians.
How can the Ministry of Human Services in Georgetown and even senior personnel seemingly miss this mentally ill and nude Amerindian woman in front of Parliament Building and her plight is most appalling – the woman walked from Timehri to Georgetown in the plain sight of these authorities.
In my mind such anti-social behaviour by the ministry will only increase for as long as these kinds of women go unnoticed and neglected.