By Edlyn Benfield
"Angry and bitter, very bitter. It has been over four years and I am still in shock."
Stabroek News
July 16, 2001
These were the words used by Lucille Bacchus, mother of the late Fareena and Wallie Bacchus - both of whom died in a road accident in November, 1996 - to describe her feelings since the loss of her two children.
When Stabroek News spoke with Bacchus, one of the prominent founding members of the body `Mothers In Black' (MIB) via telephone on the current traffic situation in Guyana, the first thing she said was: "Today, [July 9] Fareena would have been 21 years old but her life was recklessly snatched away by a drunk driver who did not even serve his full sentence."
The now childless woman gave a moment by moment account of the tragedy and despair she had experienced from the time she had received the news to dealing with their deaths up to the present.
Recalling the fateful day, Bacchus said that Wallie and his younger sibling had gone to a friend's home in Enmore on the East Coast to collect a book and were returning home when the driver of a car overtook a parked vehicle colliding with two persons on a motorcycle before hitting them and turning turtle three times, careening off the southern side of the road. Wallie and Fareena were also on a motorcycle.
Bacchus explained that at the time of the accident, which occurred at approximately 0840 hrs on November 16, she had just closed the family shop and was about to relax when a neighbour approached her and enquired of the whereabouts of her children. She responded that they would return shortly. "But little did I know that they would never come back," Bacchus said, her voice taut with emotion.
Wallie, she explained was fully conscious when she visited him at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital, and had even recounted the entire tragedy for his mother but shocked everyone when he succumbed at around 1430 hrs the said day.
According to the post-mortem report, the young man died of multiple internal injuries, which included a broken pelvis, damaged liver and spleen and severed intestines.
Fareena, who had been unconscious from the time she was thrown from the motorcycle, died from kidney failure on November 26, two days after undergoing brain surgery in Trinidad to repair head injuries and 11 days after the disaster.
Asked how she has dealt with her tragedy during the ensuing years, Bacchus responded that she makes floral arrangements and designs decorative cushions. "But the pain remains the same because every time I turn I see something that reminds of my two beautiful children."
The woman recalled attending court for two gruelling years while her children's `killer' was represented by then attorney Ronald Gajraj, who withdrew from the case shortly before the final verdict to become Minister of Home Affairs.
Anguish evident in her voice, Bacchus told of how the driver of the vehicle, Nandram Naraine of Strathspey, ECD, who it was concluded had been drunk at the time of the accident, was released after spending only 16 months of the three-year sentence imposed by Magistrate Rabindra Rooplall at the Vigilance Magistrate's court on January 21, 1999.
The mother told Stabroek News that she had made a trip to Corentyne, Berbice and had collected all the details pertaining to another serious traffic offence with which Naraine had been charged but that she was informed that the police could not use those facts since that matter had been settled out of court. She is urging the families of persons whose lives were snuffed out by dangerous drivers to desist from engaging in out-of-court settlements.
According to Bacchus, herself and husband, who she said worked every day of the week as a taxi-driver to educate their children, were living "empty lives", and they had had to close down the shop after depression overcame her and she was forced to survive on medication.
MIB was established on July 7 last year in response to two fatal crashes which took place the previous weekend on the Linden Highway claiming many lives. MIB noted that to date, 67 lives have been lost this year. MIB has held 52 vigils, one every Friday since its establishment, opposite Parliament Buildings.
In an invited comment, President of the organisation Denise Dias said, "Implementation of proper regulations regarding Highway Codes in our schools so that our children can understand and be aware of the basics is where we need to start." She added that this suggestion had been made to Minister of Education, Dr Henry Jeffrey, on July 5, when MIB spoke with him. She said the minister informed them that an appropriate directive had been sent out to all school principals.
Dias also told this newspaper, that MIB had met the Minister of Home Affairs on June 19 to discuss a complete revision of the country's traffic rules and had introduced a list of proposals.
To date, Dias commented, MIB which constitutes the mothers, female relatives and friends of child victims has had some small victories. "We have received copies of the drafts aimed at having safety laws concerning breathalysers, a points system, the use of radar traps and safety belts set in motion."
Both Dias and Bacchus lamented the fact that Guyana was being robbed of young people who have something to contribute to society - both Fareena and Wallie had attained passes in five subjects at the Caribbean Examinations Council.
The women reiterated their personal determination and that of MIB to put an end to the carnage on Guyana's roadways, and the involuntary slaughter of the country's young people, its future.
In a release to this newspaper, MIB expressed gratitude to organisations that have supported its cause. These include Banks DIH Ltd, Bryden & Fernandes, Demerara Distillers Ltd, and Western Union Money Transfer.