"I am seriously considering leaving this
country, my children are still traumatised by the
ordeal. They don't want to play in the yard anymore
and it is killing me to see them like this..."
These were the words of Gowkarran
Pooran, who was hit on the head when he
suddenly came face to face with three gun-toting
bandits at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara on February
11. On that date the three bandits had broken into the
home of 51-year-old
Mohamed
Omar and
shot him two times in the head before escaping with
large amounts of money and jewellery.
On their way out of the area, they encountered
Pooran, who was jogging. They hit him on the head with
a gun butt, before commanding him to lie on the road.
Speaking to Stabroek News on Tuesday, Pooran, who
had to have the injury stitched, said since the
incident two of the bandits had returned to the area
and were "eye balling" them. According to
the man, the very next evening after the incident two
of the bandits returned to the area after dark and
were seen walking. But by the time the police were
called the men had fled the area. He reported that on
Tuesday evening last the two men were again seen in
the area.
He said it grieves his heart to see his 12-year-old
son and ten-year-old daughter afraid to play in the
yard after school.
"That was their normal routine after school.
But now they don't want to do it anymore. They don't
even want to feed the dogs when the afternoon comes.
It is really scary to watch my children suffer like
this. Sometimes I want to go mad," the man
lamented.
He said even though he had changed his jogging
routine, his family was still scared that bandits
might attack him again. He said his house was
surrounded by high fences and the gate was always
padlocked, but his family was still afraid of an
attack.
Pooran appealed for more police patrols in their
area. He said most of the residents around him were
scared. "We normally keep Bible studies in our
home and the other one of the neighbours related to my
wife how scared she was since the bandits were sighted
in the area again. But what she did not know was that
my wife is also scared sick and she is just putting up
a brave front."
The man feels that there should be some form of
counselling provided for families that suffer at the
hands of bandits, since he said these incidents can
sometimes destroy families.
"We need counselling and therapy for robbery
victims. But this country does not offer this. That is
why we are willing to run from our country and give
somebody else a shot who places more value on our
lives," the man said.
He once again recalled the youthfulness of the
three bandits; he estimated that none of them was
older than 17.
Pooran, who is an electrical air conditioning
contractor, and who holds the contract for the Office
of the President, State House and other government
buildings, said he did not know how the many victims
coped after brutal attacks by bandits.
