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HomeNewsEDITORIAL: THE FUNERAL OF ADRIANNA SHOULD HAVE BEEN A DAY OF MOURNING

EDITORIAL: THE FUNERAL OF ADRIANNA SHOULD HAVE BEEN A DAY OF MOURNING

Today, as the small casket of Adriana Younge is lowered into the earth, the soil that receives her should feel unbearably heavy. This should have been a day of national mourning—not just for the tragic loss of an 11-year-old girl, but for what her death has come to symbolize: the erosion of public trust, a failure to protect, and a deep wound in the conscience of this nation.

Adriana was found dead in a swimming pool at the Double Day International Hotel in Region Three nearly two months ago after being reported missing by her family. The country learned of her death with disbelief. That disbelief turned to confusion, then outrage—and for many that emotion has only intensified as answers remain elusive.

Three separate autopsies—two conducted locally and one by an independent U.S.-based pathologist—concluded that Adriana died by drowning. There are no signs of sexual assault, no broken bones, and no evidence of foul play. Still, there remains something deeply unsettling about the way this case has unfolded.

How does a young girl disappear under the eyes of relatives, hotel staff, and law enforcement, only to be found hours later in a pool that, by some accounts, had already been searched? How did early police reports mistakenly suggest she had left the premises in a vehicle—only to retract that detail later? Why were the public and Adriana’s grieving parents asked to accept a version of events that changed more than once?

For many Guyanese, these questions cut deeper than procedure—they strike at the heart of parental fears and community trust. They force us to ask how safe our children are. They shake our already fragile confidence in the institutions meant to serve and protect. They lay bare a painful reality: that in Guyana, even the death of a child under mysterious circumstances can pass without complete clarity, without accountability, and without the full weight of the nation coming to a pause.

Today, Adriana’s parents are doing the unthinkable—burying their daughter. There is no grief heavier than that. But beyond the agony of personal loss, they have had to endure a public process marked by inconsistencies, missteps, and the sense that they have been forced to pursue answers on their own.

This country should have stood still today. Flags should have flown at half-mast. Schools should observe a moment of silence. Public officials should have acknowledged the significance of this moment. Instead, life continued—as though nothing had happened, as though the death of this little girl was not a matter of national reflection.

But it should be. It must be.

We owe it to Adriana to mark this day not just with mourning but with resolve. A moment of prayer is not too much to ask. Let every family today stop—if only for a few moments—and say her name. Say a prayer for the parents now living in unspeakable pain. Pray that they find peace, that they find answers, that they find justice.

But let that prayer be more than symbolic. Let it be a spark. Let it remind public officials that they are accountable. Let it push the media to keep asking hard questions. Let it drive civil society to demand stronger investigative protocols, better child protection policies, and more rigorous training for institutions that failed Adriana.

The Guyanese public deserves assurance that when a child dies under uncertain or suspicious circumstances, every effort—without delay or deflection—will be made to uncover the whole truth. Until that happens, this case will remain open in the minds of many. And the memory of Adriana Younge will not rest.

This is more than a tragedy. It is a call to action. We are not just mourning a child—we are confronting a brutal truth about how vulnerable children can be and how fragile justice can feel.

Let us not turn away. Let us not normalize this. Let us not forget.

Adriana’s life mattered. Her death matters. And what we do next will matter even more.

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