An 11-year-old child has lost her life, her family’s pain is unbearable, and a nation has embraced them with prayers and love. We know that the child, with the beautiful name of Adrianna, drowned; because three international, well-qualified pathologists – one of whom was selected by the family – told the family and the nation so. What we do not know are the circumstances of her drowning. The investigation of how she drowned has to be completed; the quicker the better.
One thing is certain: there are many unanswered questions, and we all agree that the best efforts must be made to get to the bottom of what really took place.
In the meanwhile, the family had planned the funeral for this past Monday, May 5th. At the last moment, they postponed the funeral. We must respect their decision. Apart from the grief, the sorrow, the unbearable pain the family continues to experience; outside of the questions they have about Adrianna’s death; outside of legitimate reasons for peaceful protest; the family has had to experience the dishonouring of Adrianna’s life by those who hijacked and politicised her mourning with violent protest that involved destruction of properties and injuries to innocent people. Clearly, the tragedy of a family was hijacked by the merchants of mischief, mayhem and division.
While investigators are trying to put together the story of what really happened, social media practitioners, the merchants of mischief and incitement,turned Adrianna’s death into their own playground of terrorism and ugly mischief, violence, destruction and utter mayhem.
One person actually spoke to the dead child, who “told” her what happened. That person explained that the dead child spoke to her from the mortuary.
One young lady, a nursing assistant at the GPHC, did a video message in which she claimed that Minister Anthony had chosen her to be present at the autopsy to orchestrate a cover-up. This nursing assistant even insisted in her video message that the internationally-recognized pathologists had requested her opinion, bypassing the family doctor and lawyer. No one had seen her in the room; she is not visible in any of the videos; but somehow, the pathologists had seen her and requested her opinion.
Another social media expert told of the funeral parlour and local pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh compromising the body of the dead child to hide evidence. Some social media experts desperately tried to link high Government officials with the owners of the hotel where the dead girl’s body was found in a pool. Some had evidence that the child was sacrificed in some kind of “Hindu” ceremony. Some, hiding behind a fake sympathy for the family of the dead child, resorted to threats against the president, the vice president, ministers, police officers and their children.
The expertise of the three international pathologists, including the one the family had chosen, has been disregarded, and in fact impugned, with allegations they were bribed to cover-up a crime. The family-chosen medical doctor, who has been around the family from the start, has been accused of being “bought-out” because he accepted the findings of the autopsy. The family lawyer has been under pressure, being accused also of being “bought-out”. In fact, it seems that another lawyer has replaced him. Opposition people around the family have advised them to get another pathologist. This one is from Trinidad, and has a questionable history.
Opposition elements clearly do not want a funeral just yet. They clearly are trying to pressure the family into a “shopping-spree” for a pathologist to tell them a different narrative than what the three international pathologists have already stated.
Clearly, the Opposition are trying their best to turn a tragedy into a political mayhem. Whatever care they have expressed appears to be just a cocoon to hide the motive of using Adrianna’s death as a vehicle to terrorize the nation. It is simply despicable.
Nigel Hughes, the day before the expected funeral on Monday, May 5, told the police he had information that there are instigators who would use the funeral to create mayhem. But he refused to inform the police where he obtained his information. Hughes claimed he is bound to not expose who his informant was. This is a most reprehensible behaviour by someone who wants to be President of Guyana. Just like his loyalty is to EXXON before Guyana, his loyalty is to those who want to create mayhem rather than to the people of Guyana.
Any political leader who is worth anything would want to cooperate with authorities to prevent any kind of planned violence. Clearly, in the minds of reasonable people, this was merely setting the scene for blaming others for possible violence created by the “Scrapes” that Nigel Hughes and others insist should have their rights to protest protected, even if violence is a collateral damage. This is reprehensible.
With elections just months away, the Opposition have clearly started their campaign. Adrianna’s untimely death has galvanized national mourning, but it has also presented the Opposition with the opportunistic platform to create mayhem. This has always been the mainstay of Opposition politics in Guyana. It has always been their main campaign platform.
While President Irfaan Ali, VP Bharrat Jagdeo and cabinet members genuinely mourn the death of a child, bringing our people together to provide prayers and support for a family enduring unbearable pain, the Opposition – unfortunately but predictably – find fertile ground for division, violence and terrorism.
While the President and Vice President are talking about unity and building the country we want, the Opposition are busy shopping for a pathologist and investigators who would find a way to support their narrative and the narrative of the social media “experts” who sell themselves as better than the real experts.
The time has come for Guyanese to shout out loud: “Enough is enough!” The time has come for Guyanese to join with the family to allow Adrianna to rest in peace with angels in God’s Arms.