Guyana is an unsafe place for our youth, says AFC MP
By Zena Henry Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament Trevor Williams, in alluding to the unsolved murders of Sheema Mangar, Kirk Davis, Trevor Rose and several others, has described Guyana as being an unsafe place for young people. Speaking also about the growing problem of trafficking in persons (TIP) and an increasing suicide rate, Williams said that the current government has failed to ensure the continued development of young people in a safe and secure environment.
AFC MP Trevor Williams
In a presentation to the National Assembly, the Member of Parliament (MP) stated that nowhere in the budget has the government recognized that “Guyana has the fourth worst suicide rate per capita in the entire world, a national crisis problem that disproportionately affects our young people, and this was according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2008.” For this year, Williams continued, the suicide rate in Berbice alone is competing with the national homicide rate, “and the young are disproportionately affected.” He at the time reminded the government that on the same day of his budget presentation, a thirteen-year-old boy had taken his own life by hanging at Enmore ECD, while on the weekend, a ten-year-old boy had also attempted suicide. “When it comes to murder and violent crimes, our criminal justice system continues to fail young people. From the Sheema Mangar case to the Kirk Davis case to the murder of Trevor Rose; Guyana under this People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration is not a safe place for our youth and nothing seems to be done about it.” The AFC member also related that young persons were becoming TIP victims “The Human Services Minister sought to make the case that Trafficking in Persons – something that disproportionately affects young, poor women from marginalized communities – exists at some acceptable minimum.” After applauding the work done by Ms. Simona Broomes and the Guyana Women Miners Organization for continuing to tackle the problem, he said this issue has proven itself to be “an inconvenient truth to this administration.” Recently, a female TIP accused walked free from the Magistrates’ Court after police witnesses repeatedly failed to appear for the hearing. At the woman’s first appearance in court, police prosecutors had said that all investigations were complete and enough evidence had been acquired for a conviction. Meanwhile, suicide has also been lifting eyebrows for quite some time, with statistics showing a significant jump in attempts and deaths. One organization, the American University of Research, has noted a great need for increased action, and is working on a website, while a special hotline has been created for potential suicidal persons.