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SUNday, december 1, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com
Pastor calls for rehabilitation programme for ex-offenders
P
ractical Christianity Ministries President, Pastor W P Jeffrey is calling on government to establish a formal ex-offender rehabilitation programme in light of the crime situation here. Jeffrey, who is also the founder of the organisation he heads, said even with all the resources being spent to outfit the police and expand the prison and the holding cells, the prospects for any abatement in criminal activities, do not look promising. Recently, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud reported that the majority of crimes are being committed by young people and about a third are repeat offenders. He also noted that 80 per cent of the persons charged with robbery are below 35; 93.6 per cent of repeat offenders for street crimes are below 35; 74.4 per cent of persons charged with breaking offences are below 35; and 66.3 per cent of persons charged with rape are below 35 years. “What was not in the crime chief’s report is the statistical fact that more than half of these offenders – due to stigmatisation, lack of after care and other post release services – are likely to perpetuate their criminality for many more years, even as younger criminals
join them. “What the chief did not say is that most of the street crimes (as opposed to white collar crimes) are being committed by young Black males, which is obvious, in part, by the disproportionate number of Black males in prison.” Report The Guyana Prison Service report, 2010-2015, titled, Towards Renewal and Reconstruction notes that the majority of the inmates, 68 per cent, are within the age group 16-35, confirming that more youth are involved in crime. Moreover, more youths are coming into the prisons for a number of offenses, including those of violence in one form or another. These youths are invariably, functionally illiterate, and in many instances, school drop-outs from predominantly single parent families,” the report says. The influx of criminal activities is also putting a strain on the penal system. The report indicated that overcrowding began to emerge in the 1970s, and at January 2010, prisoners’ population across the five locations – Georgetown, Mazaruni, New Amsterdam, Lusignan and Timehri – was in excess of its optimum capacity by
Pastor Wendell P Jeffrey 33 per cent. According to the strategic plan, one of the weaknesses of the Guyana Prison Service is its “inability to effectively classify and segregate criminals within the prison system because of overcrowding and staffing issues”. Unhelpful situation This means these young inmates – 16 to 25 – are being exposed to other forms of crimes, from the more seasoned inmates. They then return to society and unleash these new found skills on the community. According to Pastor Jeffrey, the Practical Christianity Ministries can run the programme. “We have 10 acres of land with running water from a spring; we have the
architectural drawings for the rehabilitation facility we intend to build; the men will have somewhere to go to when they are released. That this will serve as a halfway house; we have a detailed sustainability plan, using greenhouse hydroponic farming, with expertise being provided by the Israelis and the UKAID (they took a team to see our land); we will raise chickens and bees and other kinds of livestock that this will create employment for the men; we have met with the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, where we were advised on process of preparing, packaging and shipping of our products; we consulted with the Guyana National Bureau of Standards with regards to meeting international standards with our crops, poultry and honey; we have the manpower, using the released prisoner, ex-offenders and those from the homeless shelter in East La Penitence and even some from around the town; the men will enrol in continuing education; we met and spoke with the folks at the School of Adult and Continuing Education; the men would be enrolled in substance abuse programmes, for those with lingering addictive problems; and the men will be encouraged to attend religious services of their choice, so as to make that needed spiritual connection,” he said. The pastor also pointed out that there is a tangible reason the majority of street crimes are perpetuated by Black males. “People say that the guys cannot, or don’t want to change. Our question is, what has the society done to facilitate that change? Where are the after-care programmes?” he questioned.
Mollycoddling S
atiricus knew a lot about “mollycoddling”. As a boy, his dad took what young Satiricus thought was sadistic pleasure in foisting chores around the house and beyond on his tender shoulders. “I mean”, thought Satiricus, “how dare he send me to the corner shop for cigarettes?” He would run to his mother and whine. His father’s invariable response had been, “For Chrissake woman!! Don’t mollycoddle the boy! You want to turn him into a girl or something?” Well, from the way these fellas Tiny Veera and TB Jaan were talking, it sure as hell looked like the government was mollycoddling sugar workers. Even though they weren’t producing, the government, from what the two sugar experts claimed, was just throwing money at them. Satiricus was outraged – as a hard working pen-pusher in the newspaper business, nobody was throwing money at him. “Goat ain’t bite me!!” muttered Satiricus. And to rub salt into the wound his buddies Cappo and Bungi, who were cane-cutters, sure weren’t sharing any of this money that was being thrown at them. Satiricus still had to pay for his berries. He headed down to the back street bar to find out what was going on. Or at least get some free beers. “Buddaaay! How come yuh face so sour?” was how Cappo greeted Satiricus as soon as he spied him. “Doan ‘budday’ me! How come you raking in the big bucks and we ain’t even get a beer from you?” demanded Satiricus, heatedly. The other fellas at the table looked up in surprise mixed with anticipation. The prospect of free beers always had that effect on them. “Is wat schupidness yuh deh pan?” asked Cappo in genuine surprise. “Wha big bucks yuh talking about?” Satiricus quickly repeated what he’d read from the two sugar experts. Cappo listened and then responded. “Sato me friend, you know every story gat two sides?” Satiricus nodded. “Well, lemme tell you: Veera Daady used to own de sugar estate and me Dady and me wuk in de estate. Yuh surprise he tell you we wuk fuh too much money?” “Let me hear some facts, Cappo,” demanded Satiricus. “I want some beers.” “Wel,l Sato, de fact is canecutta only get pay fuh how much they cut and load...no wuk...no money!” “Well Veera and Jaan say the PPCEE paying you too much to cut and load.” Ret “Budday...we bin getting the same five per cent increase like dem civil servants fuh years. And dis year dey get five per cent and abee only get four per cent. And me na know how much cane dem a fetch!” “Well... they say 60 per cent of Guysuco expense is to pay you all!” came what Satiricus thought was the clinching point. “Sato, me, friend...when de white man was here...was 65 per cent fuh labour!!!” The table became quiet. No free beers.
Leo Casimir cops CVC Award for Excellence
T
he Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) is pleased to announce that Leo Casimir is the 2013 winner of the Juanita Altenberg Award for Excellence. Casimir is a Caricom project coordinator with the Regional Global Fund Grant. In making the award, CVC Board Co-chair Donna DaCosta-Martinez said, “Mr Casimir is to be lauded for being instrumental in mobilising civil society’s involvement in Global Fund processes. He has taken very seriously and executed very well the mandate to ensure that the civil society sector maximises access to the available resources of the Global Fund in the region.” DaCosta-Martinez
pointed out that it was in recognition of the invaluable partnership between civil society organisations and inter-governmental agencies that the decision was made on this occasion to honour Casimir. CVC recognises that because of his personal commitment and passion to these successful partnerships, the capacity of civil society organisations in the region has been enhanced. In accepting the award, Casimir hastened to point out that “… any success must be credited to all members of my team. I share this award with them.” He thanked CVC for its regional work and for being strident in representing the voices of vulnerable communities throughout the region.
The Juanita Altenberg Award is named in honour of CVC’s founding cochair, the late Juanita Altenberg, who for decades advocated for the rights of vulnerable communities, not only in her home country of Suriname, but throughout the Caribbean. The inaugural award was presented to Suzette Moses-Burton of St Maarten in 2009 for her work with the community of persons living with HIV. The next was presented to Miriam Edwards of Guyana in 2010 for her work with sex workers. In 2011, the award was presented posthumously to CVC Co-founder and Executive Director, Dr Robert Carr for his internationally recognised work with vulnerable communities.