“I WILL look to the law to respectfully and effectively articulate the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of Guyana.”

Those were the words of the newly admitted Attorney-at-law, Mr. Saeed Hamid, during his address to the court before Justice Simone Morris Ramlall last Friday.
The 25-year-old is a product of the St. Roses High School, who ventured into the field of law, and last year graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad as one of two Guyanese on the Principal’s Roll of Honour, together with awards for Best Performance by a Student from Guyana, The Book Specialist Prize and the Ronnie Boodoosingh Human Rights Prize.

Hamid is now admitted, since over the past year, he spent his time at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, United Kingdom, reading for his Master of Laws in Human Rights. With the same dedication and commitment at law school, Hamid was able to secure straight A’s and is expected to graduate with First Class Honours in November.
He said that his interest in human rights law was awakened during his time at the Hugh

Wooding Law School, serving as President of the Human Rights Committee and student attorney at the Human Rights Specialist Law Clinic, where he did extensive work on domestic violence. He noted how suitable human rights law can be to protect the interests of the oppressed and is the perfect catalyst to effect positive change and to uphold principles of equality and fairness.

Petitioning the court on Hamid’s behalf, Attorney-at-law, Mr. Glenn Hanoman said that Many assumed Hamid would pursue a Masters in Oil and Gas, however he noted that Human Rights Law incorporates many issues in society and there are environmental and social concerns which arise from oil and gas sectors worldwide which may be remedied by a knowledge of human rights law.

The young man credits hard work, determination and a strong support system for his achievements. Hamid went on to thank his friends and family, and made a personal commitment to “uphold the ethics of this noble profession, to carry myself with dignity always, to foster good relations among my fellow attorneys, to represent the best interest of my clients and to be a relic for justice in our society.”

Regarding his short term goals as a new attorney-at-law, he intends to garner some experience by practicing in the area of criminal law. He is currently concerned with the human rights issues related to child abuse, sexual abuse, heavy penalties associated with youth justice and detention.

His long term goals however, include assisting in legislative reform, human rights consultancy, giving back to the University of Guyana at some point in his career and perhaps work at the United Nations.

Hamid concluded his remarks to the court by citing the words of the late John F. Kennedy “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”