DISABILITY rights activist and Programme Coordinator of the Guyana Society for the Blind, Ganesh Singh, was, on Tuesday, robbed by a bicycle bandit as he stepped out of a taxi and was about to enter the building.
The bandit rode up to him and asked if he was going inside. Immediately, Singh suspected that he was about to be robbed, and tried to get back into the vehicle. It was then that the criminal went after him and snatched his belongings.
The incident happened at 11:45 hrs, approximately 10 feet away from the door of the society. The taxi driver froze, Singh said, and the bandit made good his escape. “These guys have become more rampant and aggressive,” Singh told Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday.
He described the area as a hotspot for robberies with bandits targeting people with disabilities. In fact, just about two weeks ago, someone who went to the society to drop off groceries was robbed in the compound. Singh believes that it was the same individual at work, owing to the fact that a bicycle was used and it was around the same time of the day.
“The security situation in the St Phillips Green where the Guyana Society for the Blind is located is getting worse. Security was always a problem in the area for the blind persons; however, over the past few months things have gotten worse. The bandits are more brazen,” Singh expressed in a Facebook post.
He continued that while this is not the first incident of a blind person getting robbed in the area, he knows that it will not be the last unless the relevant authorities do something drastic and concrete to improve the security situation in the area.
“Blind persons need to visit the organisation for training and services and should be protected. The Guyana Police Force needs to have more patrols in the area. Whenever calls are made to the emergency numbers for help, a team should be dispatched with urgency,” Singh urged.
“I must indicate that I did not visit the police station at Brickdam to make a report. A friend, who is a former police inspector, called Brickdam and requested a patrol to visit the location. An officer did visit a while after, enduring some difficulty finding the location although a sign board is in front of the driveway,” Singh noted.
Meanwhile, Blindness Awareness Month is observed in May and president of the Society, Cecil Morris, said virtual activities will be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He called attention to the issue of security for the members and noted that a number of blind persons have been robbed over the past few months, both in the compound and while on their way into the compound. “This security issue has been an ongoing one with no concrete solution from the authorities. The area is known to have a lot of thieves,” he pointed out.
Explaining some of the other issues at the society, Morris said for the past two years, the building floods even when there is limited rainfall. Also, the sewerage system that is connected to the building is blocked and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) field workers are unable to find the blockage or the plan for the area. As a result, there is constant back up of waste materials.
Additionally, vagrants and other citizens use the area, mainly the driveway to the compound, as a dumpsite, and yet another issue is the absence of adequate funding to manage the organisation and provide services to the membership.
The Guyana Society for the Blind is a national organisation of and for the blind and is governed by an act of Parliament. The organisation has been in existence since 1953 at its present location and has been providing services to the blind community in various areas.
