National outcry – Hundreds gather at ‘Cuffy Square’ calling for justice for Henry boys

In what has grown into a nationwide appeal for justice for the murdered teen cousins Joel and Isaiah Henry, hundreds of citizens Tuesday gathered at the Square of the Revolution, Georgetown in a peaceful protest.

While persons turned out in their personal capacity as part of a bigger movement calling for the respect of black lives, several African, Human Rights, Legal and Social organisations were also represented at the protest.

The demonstrators stood in long lines in front of the 1763 Monument, forming a chain around the recently painted “Black Lives Matter” mural and holding placards and coconuts as they shouted “No Justice, No Peace!”

The gruesome murder of the teen boys has sparked protests across the country among predominantly Afro-Guyanese citizens who have regarded the killing as a hate crime fueled by race.

Relatives believe the boys were killed and their bodies placed in the coconut farm at Cotton Tree, just a few villages away from where they lived.

Sister Clementine Marshall of the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) was strong in her call for the respect of Afro-Guyanese lives and more importantly for the perpetrators of the murder of the teen boys to be brought to justice.

“They mark X in their head and chop them up, why? And then telling me is not race hate… Well it is race hate, it is race hate and it all started and encouraged by the leaders of this country. It is encouraged, not one of them is out here,” she told the News Room while fighting to hold back tears.

A mother of black boys herself, Natasha joined the demonstrators as a “grieving mother to demand justice.”

“This could have been my child; this could have been my nephews; this could have been one of my own blood. This is injustice… we need justice and I am out here in support of the Henry boy’s family … we need justice, enough is enough,” she said.

The silent protest also saw the participation of several Members of Parliament of the APNU+AFC Opposition but it mostly included ordinary young citizens who have joined voices to demand justice.