Friends host candlelight vigil in memory of drowned UG teen

Harris was the eye in our little storm.” This was among the many sentiments expressed on Monday evening when a group of friends and associates of UG student Harris Anthony Persaud, who drowned last week, gathered to reminisce on his life.

The friends and colleagues of drowned UG student Harris Persaud on Monday evening held a candlelight vigil in memory of their friend
The friends and colleagues of drowned UG student Harris Persaud on Monday evening held a candlelight vigil in memory of their friend

Persaud, 19, of Lot 21 Granny Field, Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara, went missing on Wednesday last, and his body was found floating in the Demerara River in the vicinity of Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara on Friday afternoon. A post-mortem revealed that the young man died by drowning.

The 19-year-old’s friends held a candlelight vigil at the University of Guyana’s parking lot where they reflected on their memories of him. Sajeedah Khan, one of his close friends who organised the vigil, reflected on her time spent with Persaud, telling those gathered that Persaud was unlike any other person she has encountered so far.

“I have known Harris for about eight years. We both entered Queen’s College in September 2008 and because of the way the class system is set up, we spent up to 2013 together,” she stated, adding that she was still trying to come to grips with the fact that her close friend was no longer with her.

“Ever since Friday…I have been at a loss for words to describe what I feel and what most of you are feeling as well. How do you write something to say at a friend’s memorial, especially when it is someone like Harris? He was simply the most humble young man you could have ever met, genuine and undoubtedly trustworthy…even this would be too much for him, but he would go out of his way to do this and more if he had the chance or it had been any of us. So we’re just trying to give him the best. In a way, this is for us and not for him, because the only way we have been able to handle this is by being together,” she stated.

Struggling to contain her tears, the young woman shared that while it may be difficult for persons to believe all of the good things being said about Persaud, it was all true. “Harris was the eye in our little storm….he was the calmest, the most peaceful and most of the times the most rational. He never believed in violence, harsh words or bad blood and he always tried to teach us those virtues. I know he would want us to be strong, but I don’t think that’s something we can be right now. Harris, you deserved an eternity…and all you got was a meagre two decades,” she stated.

Another of Persaud’s friends, Alarick Hossein, related that the young man had a way of making people feel welcome, and it was this trait that started their friendship. “It was my first day, so I didn’t really know anyone at all. I was just standing there eating an entire pack of Hershey’s chocolate by myself…but Harris stood there and I remember exactly what he said. He said, ‘Wham? So like the rest ah we ain’t got mouth?’ From hearing that, I figured that he would be somebody big in my life and I wasn’t wrong. He was an exceptional and remarkable young man,” Hossein said.

Persaud was last seen on Wednesday by his relatives when he left home to attend classes at the University. The Police have arrested the teen’s two friends with whom he was last seen, and they are still in custody awaiting the decision whether or not they will be charged.

The young men told Police that Persaud was swimming with them behind the Marriott Hotel, when a wave swept him away. They claimed that they panicked, and disposed of his clothing and other belongings.