– monument erected to remember 5 other heroes
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Sunday hosted its 17th annual wreath-laying ceremony dedicated to the Force’s fallen heroes at the Police Officers Mess Compound, Eve Leary.
A relative of one of the slain Police ranks laying a wreath at the monument on Sunday
An additional monument was erected to pay homage to Police Constable Michael Forde and Sherwayne Pantlitz, who were both killed in the line of duty in 2013; Silburn Elias, who was killed in 2014; Antonio Dawson and Sergeant Leonard Junior La Rose, who was killed in 2016.
Their families, friends, and colleagues remembered the brave men by laying wreaths at the monument.
In his address to the gathering, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine noted that the monument was a reminder of the challenges faced in the past and those to come in the future.
Ramnarine added that the Force has an important role to play – that is to provide security to the nation. The Commissioner, however, noted that Guyana has come a long way.
A section of the gathering at the wreath-laying ceremony on Sunday
“The monument tells us that in the last few years we have had mercies compared to the period where we had gone with the crime wave. So, we don’t want that to reoccur so we have to strive diligently with professionalism and integrity as our watchdogs to ensure that no addition is made to that monument,” the acting Top Cop stated.
Ramnarine, nevertheless, applauded the work of the Fallen Heroes Foundation Incorporated, whose mission is to remember the fallen officers by providing for those they left behind.
“The memorial service tells us and reminds us of human nearness and closeness and that despite the fact that they made the ultimate sacrifice and are not here with us, that their children and relatives can feel comfortable and at least have a certain satisfactory level that the Guyana Police Force in the main, and that the Government in its own rule, has not forgotten you not only on this occasion, but throughout the years as we go by … so I want to applaud the work of the Fallen Heroes Foundation in its volunteerism towards its very honourable mission that we have created and that will continue,” he explained.
The acting Commissioner concluded by urging current members of the Police Force to remember those who made the sacrifice.
“Members of the Force, I urge you to understand and to keep reminding yourself that those who made the sacrifice made the sacrifice so that today we can stand and we can take the Force forward, we can learn bitter lessons of the past, we can adjust in our diligence and our commitment and professionalism that the works that they would’ve done and the sacrifices that they would’ve made would not have gone in vain.”
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, in his remarks, noted that the fallen heroes made the ultimate sacrifice.
“He who gives of his possession can be classified as good in this life and it is always that giving that will make life better. But he who gives of himself and makes the ultimate sacrifice like the fallen heroes that constitutes the greatest generation, the greatest individuals,” Ramjattan remarked.
He reflected on the importance of a Policeman in society, while noting that there were huge challenges to face in the coming days.
“You have to do the impossible for the ungrateful. And that is what makes this profession so significant, so noble, and so honourable because when a genuine crisis befalls, the first call that is made is to the Police. And amidst all the danger, the Police have to ensure that their presence be felt and that order is maintained. It’s an extraordinarily dangerous job, this policing but it is very necessary and an institution that is necessary for a society to move forward and advance like Guyana is,” the Minister explained.
He also thanked the Fallen Heroes Foundation for the work that it has done over the years to help the children and relatives of the slain Police ranks.
