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friDAY, january 13, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com
Bandits torch NIS WBD safe, cart off $6M
− several questioned
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everal persons attached to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) branch at Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD), were taken into Police custody for questioning on Thursday, following a $6 million robbery in the wee hours of the morning. The robbery occurred sometime around 02:30h and the ordeal lasted for almost an hour. According to reports reaching Guyana Times, six armed men entered the compound by cutting the chainlink fence in the rear, after which they attacked the
cape. This newspaper understands that the Police in D Division (West DemeraraEast Bank Essequibo) are now working on the theory that it might have been an inside job, stating that someone from the inside might have divulged information to the perpetrators, since the money was only placed there the day before. Guyana Times was told that the NIS Office is currently collecting payments from self-employed persons. Meanwhile, among those taken into custody for questioning were the male se-
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Bandits hit NIS Pouderoyen Office
pensioners who turned up to collect their monies. On the other hand, while none of the neighbours knew of the robbery until daybreak, one woman recalled hearing screams during the morning hours, but thought it was a domestic violence disturbance. “I woke up because I heard a screaming so I thought some man beating up his wife on the road. This person hollering and screaming and then all of a
The ripped chain-link fence which the bandits used to enter the compound
two security guards on duty. The female and male guards were then bound and a service weapon, along with six rounds of ammunition was taken away from the male guard. The perpetrators also disconnected the alarm system, as well as the telephone lines before forcing their way into the building by kicking down the door. While inside, the men torched the safe and bagged the money before making good their es-
curity guard and three other employees attached to the NIS Pouderoyen Office. Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Leslie James, told this newspaper that investigators have questioned nine employees in connection with the robbery. When this publication visited the scene, the office was closed for the day; however, many of the staffers remained in the building and were seen turning away
Portugal’s PM Costa, “I am Proud to be a IO”
Police arriving at the scene
sudden it stopped, so I fall back to sleep. I did not get up, but then this morning my son told me that NIS was robbed and then I realised that it was the guard who was screaming,” the woman related. She noted for the past 13 years she has been living there, this is the first time such an incident has occurred. Meanwhile, investigations into the $6 million robbery are ongoing.
f there was one takeaway from the just concluded 14th Pravasi Bharitiya Divas (PBD January 7-9) it was India’s determination to connect with People of Indian Origin (PIO’s). They certainly pulled out all the stops at this largest even PBD held in Bangalore, its world famous IT capital. Unlike the previous PBDs, this inaugural biennial conclave was preceded by Ravi Dev a yearlong series of focused discussions chaired by foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her top Ministry officials, with specially invited members of the Indian Diaspora. Some of the recommendations from those discussions were already evident, especially an emphasis on youth – exemplified by the Youth PBD. These Diaspora youth delegates (there were nine from Guyana) were given the opportunity to interact and network with their peers – including Indian students from across India studying in Bangalore. There were, of course, exposed to the curated and living civilisational response of this southern region of India, igniting an appreciation for the tremendous diversity of India, of which they are part. For myself, a member of the panel addressing the plenary session, “Connecting Contemporary India to the Diaspora in Girmitiya Countries: Link to the Past for a Shared Future”, the highlight was the address by the Chief Guest of PBD 2017, Antonio Costa, the Prime Minister of Portugal. During his speech, he whipped out his “People of Indian Origin (PIO) card, held it aloft and announced, “I am proud to be a Person of Indian origin (PIO) – the first to lead a European country!” His origin was in Goa, the part of India that had been a colony of Portugal subsequent to Vasco da Gama’s historic discovery of a sea route to the East from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope of Africa. What was remarkable to me was his enthusiastic embrace of his Indian Origin, even though, in his case, Portugal had been expelled from Goa by an armed Indian invasion in 1961. Full diplomatic relations had only been resumed in 1975. It also reinforced a point I have been making in our country: we have to re-examine the narratives we have inherited from the colonial era. Those narratives came out of different contexts and answered what may be irrelevant in the present. Costa’s act reminds us that changes since then might have made some old labels like “enemy”, and “coloniser” anachronistic in the modern era. His declaration of being a PIO, while being a Portuguese, emphasises that accepting one’s origin in no way conflicts with one’s present nationality. As India’s PM Narendra Modi said to resounding, prolonged applause: The colour of the passports may be different; but not the ties of origin (blood). Costa also pragmatically played up his Indian origin to make a pitch for India to consider Portugal as a beachhead to interact with the rest of Europe in whatever field it chooses. The PIOs who had emigrated from India as indentured servants between 1834 (Mauritius) and March 12, 1917, when it was brought to a halt, did so after signing a contract or “agreement” that purported to describe their conditions and terms of employment in the new lands. The word “Girmit” is a Bhojpuri corruption of the world “agreement” and was first used by Fijian Indians to describe those who had decided to remain in their new countries: Girmitiya – People of the Agreement. This March, Girmitiyas from across the globe will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the abolition of Indentureship and PBD 2017 provided a platform to coordinate and support activities. The Social Cohesion Minister from Mauritius, for instance, committed his country’s help with digitisation of immigrants’ records, which can all be fed into an interactive database at the newly launched Girmitiya Research Centre in New Delhi. Going beyond the ongoing exchange of “cultural ambassadors”, India will also host events to commemorate the landmark event by highlighting the efforts of Gandhi, Gokhale and Maliviya to end indentureship. Quite significantly, in terms of their unfortunate later history, the Muslim League and Congress reunited for one last time to achieve this goal.