'She was a blessing'
Murdered schoolgirl laid to rest...
A child any parent would be proud to call their own was how murdered schoolgirl, Zareen Ansara Mohammed, was described at her funeral yesterday.
And many dismissed rumours that Mohammed was involved in a relationship with Churamen Ramsaroop, the 27-year-old PH driver who beat her to death and then drank poison.
Her school teacher, Neesha Bajnath, brought mourners to tears when she recalled her last moments with the teenager, who would have turned 15 next month. Mohammed attended the Carapichaima West Secondary School.
"I will stake my own reputation and my life on what I know about this child. She was a blessing to us all. She was dedicated, responsible and hard working. In class last Friday she was determined to ask me a question. She wanted to know when a person was in the grave? And when the angels came to ask us the three questions? When do we smell jannah? (the Islamic conception of paradise). But I did not get to answer her," she cried.
Bajnath said the teenager would often be seen sitting on her grandmother's lap, or hugging her parents.
"We are hearing all sorts of things, but this is a child. Don't judge anyone because she never did. She took everyone as they came," she said.Around midday a coffin bearing Mohammed's body was wheeled into the family's Arena Road, Freeport home. Her mother, Zorida, screamed out on seeing her only child's face. "Look what he do to my child," she cried before burying her face into a relative's embrace.
Shaban Mohammed held on to his wife and they both placed red and white roses on their daughter's body, which was draped in a white cloth. Her face was then covered with the cloth for the service to begin.
Imam Zaman Mohammed, who officiated at the service, said Mohammed was a generous girl, who was obedient and respectful to elders in the community. He asked that people respect the parents' grief and don't cast judgment on their child.
Dr Hamza Rafeeq, MP for Caroni Central, pleaded with parents to encourage their children to talk about issues affecting their lives. "As adults we are not aware of the stress and challenges our young people face at school, so please open a route of communication within young children. You have to assist them or they will turn to the wrong people and get the wrong advice," he said.
Rafeeq said whether or not the rumours were true, Mohammed did not deserve a violent death. "This is traumatic for the family, don't let Zareen die a second death. Protect the dignity of Zareen and members of her family," he said.
Ramsaroop picked up the teenager at her home around 6.30 a.m. on Monday. Mohammed's parents had hired him to take her to school. When she did not return that evening her parents went to Ramsaroop's home. He was not there. They however found blood in his 280C car, which was parked in the garage.
A search led relatives to a garden in Carlsen Field, where they found Ramsaroop's body.
An autopsy confirmed that he died after drinking a deadly weedicide.
The next morning, Mohammed's bloodied body was found in a dirt track off Bankroft Road, Freeport. Her hands and feet were tied and she was beaten on her head.
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