It is now almost four weeks since 11-year old Adrianna Younge’s lifeless body was pulled out of the pool of the Double Day Hotel at Tuschen EBE. But in that short time, the horrific incident has exposed some home-truths about Guyana that we would ignore at our peril. The first was the almost universal disdain and lack of trust for the Guyana Police Force emanating from alleged endemic corruption at all levels. A LAPOP poll back in 2015 had shown that Guyana had the lowest level of trust in the police of the region; on a scale of 0 to 100, Guyana ranked a trust level of 35.3. The pollster emphasised then that the trend was not a new one and that interviews carried out since 2006, Guyana’s trust in its police (51.1) has been steadily declining. She noted that such trust had never been high to begin with and had never reached the levels indicated by many other interviewed countries.
That loss of trust started and intensified during the long PNC 28-year rule that was maintained through rigged elections. The Police Force became the major institution to keep the populace cowed and subservient to the political directorate. By the time Desmond Hoyte formed the “Black Clothes” Tactical Unit as a rough and ready answer to the “Kick down the door bandits” phenomenon, it was too little too late. Following the return of free and fair elections in 1992, the PNC in opposition exploited “kith and kin” sentiments of the African-Guyanese dominated GPF to get away with violent protests to bring down the PPP government. The Black Clothes tactics earned the GPF even more distrust as they themselves became the target – along with perceived Indian Guyanese PPP supporters. Information that they worked in cahoots with death squads did not improve their standing, as did the steps taken by the APNU/AFC government after 2015 when Granger’s efforts were geared towards appointing officers loyal to him, and firing professionals.
Against this background, we can appreciate the remarkable ethnic unity displayed as protests broke out in front of the Leonora Police Station, demanding a proper investigation be conducted into Adrianna’s death. But this is where another other home truth played out: the seeming compulsion of the opposition to politicize every thing in Guyana in their consuming drive to grab power by any means necessary. The authorities initially accepted the blocking of the Public Road – even though this was illegal – and even the cooking of “shine rice” in its middle. Some police ranks were observed mingling amiably with the protestors. But it was when clearly politically motivated persons started hurling rocks at the Police that the Tactical Squad, which had been mobilized earlier at the Den Amstel Police Station, swung into action and fired rubber pellets to disperse the crowd.
The next flashpoint was when the government had acceded to the demand by Adrianna’s family for the autopsy to determine the cause of death be conducted by a pathologist they identified from Maryland, joining two others from Barbados and Canada. Riots broke out in front of the country’s only tertiary hospital, blocking the main entrance and impeding the entrance and exit of patients. These riots spread to other parts of the city and its environs and exploded into arson, looting and assaults. They were eerily reminiscent of riots in Georgetown since the 1960 save that the lumpen urban elements had now dubbed themselves “Scrapes”.
After the family rejected the unanimous finding of the three foreign pathologists – including theirs supported by a local doctor who observed the autopsy – that Adrianna had died by drowning and there were no signs of force of any type applied to her body, they then also rejected a retired RCMP detective to assist in the investigations. The opposition jumped in to suggest that the government was engaged in a “cover-up” and on Friday, Opposition leader Norton lead a noisy demonstration outside the Office of the President. Surely, the unfortunate Adrianna deserves better than this cynical political opportunism.
