THE apogee of political opportunism was reached on Tuesday when WIN parliamentarians and family members of Azruddin Mohamed brought children connected to the ferry disaster to enter Parliament. It was a sad sight to see. The children had lost loved ones – parents and siblings – in the ferry tragedy.
Some of those children looked like they were not familiar with what was taking place. You could tell from the ambience that these children were being architectured for a purpose. This should never have happened. Mohamed was there with the children, his two sisters and WIN parliamentarians.
Why were the children there? For what purpose? This was a line crossed by Mohamed that should remain unforgivable. You do not do this to children. They should never have been put through that ordeal. They were in the sun for hours and parliamentary security refused to allow them in and rightfully so. There is an age limit for persons from the public.
Parliament is open to members of the public to witness its debates. But children are not allowed. What is the purpose of having children in the public gallery when the House is in session? It is unheard of in the world. In which country has that happened?
On this occasion in Guyana on Monday, July 27, 2026, Azruddin Mohamed revealed his crass mentality and so did his WIN party. What Mohamed did was so simple to understand but so morally unforgivable. He used those children for political purposes. He used those children to score political points against the government.
I said in a previous column a few days ago, the country was sleepwalking into Adrianna Young 2.0. And it has happened. The dead that lies at the bottom of the ocean is not a crucial factor in determining political focus on the ferry tragedy by the opposition, anti-government civil society groups, and the anti-government media. The determining factor is political capital; to exploit the ferry tragedy to either weaken the government, expose the government, make the government look bad but never is the preoccupation with the victims a consideration. Guyana is dead in the middle of Adrianna Young 2.0.
James Bond, while in Parliament, sent out a video clip of the opposition protesting in the House on Monday and he noted that many of them were on their mobile phones. And what may that have been about? Sending images of their presence in the protest. Indeed, Monday was one of the lowest points in Guyanese politics when you saw how those children were cruelly exploited.
Mohamed, his two sisters and WIN parliamentarians who were trying to get the children into the National Assembly have an obligation to tell this nation what was the purpose of having the children in the House. His action will not be questioned by other opposition parties, civil society groups and the private media. But there is a line that cannot be crossed, and Mohamed crossed it last Monday.
We have activists in this country that on each day shout from the rooftop that the ministers of government are undemocratic. But there are no shouts when anti-government folks stoop far below what is morally acceptable in this country. Wait to see if Kaieteur News, Kiskadee Watch, Janet Bulkan, GHK Lall, Demerara Waves, Guyana Human Rights Association, Transparency International- Guyana Chapter, Red Thread, and those of their ilk will pen even a paragraph about the abuse of those children.
What about Amanza Walton. As a mother does she approve of what Azruddin did with those children? Ganesh Mahipal is a parent. Terrence Campbell has several children. Are they going to draw the line and chastise Mohamed and his WIN party? What do you think? I can tell you what I think. Those children will not count in the political configuration of those who hate the government.
Why should they discipline Mohamed when they need him? They need him because he is part of their bandwagon. They need him because he has the money to fight the government. This is indeed a political tragedy. Little children who do not understand the meaning of life itself because their thought patterns are yet to be formed are herded like sheep on front of Parliament for the purpose of getting political mileage out of their tragedy.
These little children will never see parents, siblings, aunties and uncles and cousins again, and instead of looking after their mental health, Mohamed parades them in front of the cameras for his ego and those of his party leaders. This country must have the worst opposition benches and morally depraved civil society activists in the entire world. Arthur Koestler was right – the Homo sapiens species is intrinsically flawed.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.