another funeral in runaway train to nowhwere country brought to you by bestial and barbaric agents of the state
to the future in reverse we’re headed. seats turned backwards
very hot. bamboo frame covred by tarp. school kids in gray and white and a sea of angry eyes
men stand outside along the fence and next to the drain. indside mostly women. lots of women and girls
the wife and kids and other members of the family sit besides the cofffin. which is a simple wood box wrapped in white cotton sheet. nothing fancy as per muslim tradition
but even if they wanted fancy these are poor people
who else get hauled out of their house at midnight by the guyana police farce and beaten into a bloddy pulp?
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they tried valiantly to reconstruct asif face for the funeral but they failed to hide the barbarous onslaught his body received. his mouth remains slightly open. looks like it is unable to close. they did dstroy his jaw and dislodge his teeth. a slight grimace remains on his face.
his lips are black an blue
a woman, probably his mother, tried in vain to close his mouth and fix his face. it looked like a small football. she gave up and stared down into the coffin quietly mumbling to herself. five children stood by her side looking at his face in suspended disbelief. or so it seemed
one boy violently chewed on a wad of purple bubble gum
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a few fisherman came and went just to look at their former comrade an marched out back
all looked extremely pissed off
one shook his head and you could almost be certain he is thinking of murder
a few men in the back were having a loud random conversation about something irrelevant
commander amsterdam of leonora police station and three semi official looking people came too
anger management is important at these critical moments
about 300 people are under the tarp and the place is face running out of space as more keep coming
aif wife, children, sister in laws and other women keep vigil at the coffin. his head, face, jaw and forehead are swollen out to form a small football. a 2 inch knife looking scar is on his right cheek. another dark indented scar is on his temple. his ear lobe is swollen and disfigured
an old woman assisted by another put on a knitted cap on his head
the wife and women occasionally swat flies away
as i walk past i noticed blood is oozing from his left ear and the white cloth wrapping his head and upper body are also soaked in blood from another source
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they allowed his brother serving a long prison sentence to attend the funeral. he recited a few things in arabic that moved many in the crowd to tears.
said a few things like, if we want peace in this country, we will have to get justice
he held his young niece in his arms throughout the ceremony and she held on to him
her eyes told a million stories. none of which i could explain
two smiling prison guards in plain clothes took her uncle away after the ceremony in a white car with tinted windows
he looked happy to be out, even if for a moment, but not for this
there are criminals in the guyana govt who like to boast that they returned democracy to Guyana
asif rahim is another victim of their gift
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