9th September, 2020. Georgetown, Guyana, South America
Last updated: September 9, 2020 at 12:11 pmCitizens across Guyana, have now had their lives come under siege by a band of terrorists parading under the banner of “Justice for the Henry Boys.” But the protest action has left the theme of Justice for the Henry Boys and evolved into something sadistic.
A truck driven by a cousin of the slain Henry youths was intercepted. The driver was beaten and robbed. Several other trucks were intercepted, robbed, drivers beaten and set on fire. The photo below shows a bus that was set on fire by rioters.
A citizen a few days ago recalled a horrifying experience of passing through a crowd of protestors on her way home from work. She was rescued by a male of African descent who shielded her from his fellow villagers as he whisked her away to safety on motorcycle. Read Story: Citizen Recounts Horrifying Experience Getting Through Protestors.
Last evening, a Pastor’s wife recounted the horrors of being attacked by rioters on the road while traveling with her husband and children. The bus they were traveling in was vandalized, her husband was beaten and robbed and her children traumatized. Read story: Pastor’s Wife Recount Horrifying Experience of Being Attacked by Protestors
Two houses were reportedly set on fire in the Berbice area and razed to the ground on the evening of Tuesday, 8th of September, 2020. Rioters set fire to several roadways in the town of New Amsterdam on that same night.
There are reports of young women being stripped and even raped in various parts of the country. Although we cannot substantiate the stories of rapes, they have been posted by multiple sources across Facebook by people who said they are afraid to reveal their identities because their lives are in imminent danger.
The protests erupted after two youths, Joel and Isaiah Henry, aged 16 and 18 years, were found dead in a coconut farm in Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice, Guyana, South America. Although there have been no eyewitnesses, protestors took to the streets to demand justice for the boys while claiming that the boys were murdered because of their ethnicity: the slain youths were of African descent. There has also been a Black Lives Matter Movement in Guyana which staged a peaceful protest for the slain youths at the Square of the Revolution in Georgetown, Guyana.
As the police continue their investigations into the murder of the Henry teens, at least 7 persons have been arrested and interrogated. However, there have been no confessions and convictions so far and there have been only speculations of who killed the youths and for what motive.
Meanwhile, the police has been viewed as highly ineffectual in keeping the peace and protecting the citizens against the attackers as there were multiple reports of police standing by impotently while rioters attack, beat, strip and rob citizens.
President Ali had yesterday warned that rioters who attack citizens and damage properties would be arrested and charged, but he is doing little to address the ongoing problem on the ground. Further, the warning seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
The riots have taken on ethnic overtone where Guyanese of East Indian descent are being attacked by Guyanese of African descent. Many people believe there is a mastermind behind the “race war” that has been started in Guyana, South America.
