Teen crippled by bullies recovering

BHOJPAUL Ramjas called “Dave” of Lot 3, Number 54 Village, Berbice, was overjoyed when in 2013, he obtained a place at the Skeldon High School after sitting the National Grade Six Examinations (NGSA).

However, at secondary school, things quickly went downhill for him as he was bullied, beaten and forced to climb a utility pole where he was ordered to touch a live wire by a group of boys he considered his “friends”.

The aftermath of that episode saw him spending more than 800 days at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) confined to a bed, unable to walk and suffering excruciating pain.

Thanks to the intervention of Saving Hands Emergency Aid (SHEA), a non-governmental organisation, Ramjas was flown to the US for treatment and there his recovery began.

Speaking to the Guyana chronicle, the now 17-year-old said the incident is still fresh in his mind, as he still has nightmares about it.

Ramjas recalled that he went to the backdam with four friends but was not prepared for the spate of events that followed, which changed his life completely.

The day started as anticipated, they were having fun picking fruits, milking cows, and swimming in the trenches; however, a guy identified as “Kuvesh”, four years Ramjas’ senior, reportedly got aggressive with him.

Kuvesh dealt him several blows about the body and forced him to climb a GPL utility pole and touch the live wire. Fearing for his life, Ramjas said he climbed the pole and touched the wire.

Soon after, his shirt and pants were on fire and the other ‘friends’ with him pushed him into a nearby trench to quench the flames even as he screamed for dear life.

Badly burnt, he was assisted by one of the friends to make the two-mile journey out of the backdam and on reaching the roadway, a car was stopped and he was
rushed to the Skeldon Hospital but was transferred to New Amsterdam immediately via ambulance.

Soon after, he was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he spent the next two and a half years before being discharged after doctors say there was nothing more they could do for him at that time.

Some 36 per cent of Ramjas’ body was burnt, and in some areas, he was burnt to the bone.

At home, his mother Nalini Ragnauth, 43, cared for him and prayed his life would get better.

DOCTORS HAD GIVEN UP
“Them doctors give up on he because some parts burn down to the bones.
The way how he been deh I say sometimes he not gonna make it too,” said Ragnauth as she broke down in tears.

“When he come home from the hospital, he would cry out in pain and that
does affect them neighbours who used to live around here at the time. They would say why u just doesn’t give him a dose of poison and
done,” the mother said.

Even in the hospital, he was made to suffer at the hands of nurses who are said to be relatives of one of the accused, the mother claimed.

“They used to pinch him, slap him and twitch him all over, all on he mouth they use to pinch he up. One day, a lady reach me and say how a nurse handling my son and she start explain when I ask him, then he say ‘yes’, but he was frighten to talk. I went to them and tell them and since then they don’t want to see me there,” the mother said.

Things however began to change for the family after Ramjas’ aunt, Camille
Ragnauth of the US, visited him and saw his condition.

She contacted the President of SHEA, Lori Narine and a fund-raiser was held on September 8, 2015.

Narine recalled that when she learnt of the case, Ramjas was in a terrible state and needed a miracle to survive.

“Bhojpaul was treated at the hospital and sent home after several months; however, due to inadequate home care and lack of local medical treatment, he had recurring infections which was eating away at his already fragile body. So, he lay in his bed and waited for either a miracle or death. This child suffered beyond the stretch of words until his aunt visited from the US and started a campaign to help him,” Narine said.

Within a month, through assistance from SHEA, Ramjas’ family was able to arrange his treatment, secure his medical visa, travel arrangements, housing and meals and raise enough money to cover most of his fees.

The hospital that treated his burns did so pro bono.

About five months later, he returned to Guyana in March 2016 and was pain-free and able to walk after almost three years, thanks to the work of SHEA.

Now home and able to play his favourite sport, cricket, Ramjas, who has a twin sister and two other older siblings, has his sight set on returning to school to complete his studies.

“I would like to thank everyone who helped me, because of them, I have
a second chance in life and I am very happy,” the young man said.