Dear Editor,

SHOCK and anguish are the feelings that erupt across the country when a missing child is found dead.

Fourteen-year-old Akeem Grimond; 13-year-old Leonard Archibald; 14-year-old Malika Hamilton; and nine-year-old Shaquan Gittens are the names and ages of a few of our children who were taken too soon from their families.
They were snatched without a trail, leaving their communities devastated and in fear. Every parent awaits the return of their children with the hope, prayers and belief that they are still breathing. This wasn’t the case for the families of these kids who were found dead after going missing.

Reflecting on the increase of missing persons being killed in our fellow CARICOM nations such as Trinidad and Tobago as well as Jamaica, it is critical for Guyana to implement a missing-persons alert system, drawing from the Amber Alert System that has been successfully utilised by the United Stated of America for the past 11 years.
On February 27, 2017, the Guyana Women Miners Organisation first sent this recommendation to Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, but to no avail.
On March 14, 2018, the GWMO wrote asking Minister Ramjattan to reconsider implementing a missing-alert system.

We strongly believe that the adoption of the proposed system will result in an increase in missing children being found and at a faster pace; deter potential perpetrators; not to mention create a coordinated response from all government agencies, stakeholders and the general public.

The GWMO is grateful that the Vice-President and Minister of Public Security has positively responded in support of the system.

The implementation of this system will aid in the development of a more accurate safety mechanism to protect our nation’s people. The positive change will mitigate the crime rate and distress within the country.

The level of cooperation among our people as the concern and participation of everyone is needed for the success of this system. In this manner, a social change would be enacted.

Regards

Guyana Women Miners Organisation