Heavy rains Myrie hails gun liability bill
flood Guyana
and Suriname
ation in neighboring Suriname is also
a cause of worry to officials as homes
in some southern and eastern communities
remain under window-level
flood waters, victims of several weeks of
pounding rains.
As a countermeasure, authorities
this week unveiled plans to release
millions of gallons of water from the
Afobaka dam in the interior as levels are
just two and a half feet from overtopping.
If it does, dozens of downstream
Maroon and other communities will
be flooded out so engineers will release
water through flood gates when the
tide is low to minimize problems in the
nearby Suriname River. International
weather forecasters have warned the
two neighboring countries to brace for
additional heavy rains in the coming
days and have also suggested that the
current wet season could extend into
August.
As Guyana’s parliament prepared to
meet, the country was pounded by several
hours of heavy rain early Wednesday
even as the civil defense commission
appealed for help in getting relief
packages to affected residents. The cabinet
Caribbean L 22 ife, JUNE 11-17, 2021
has already decided that this is
among the worst natural disasters in
living memory.
“Many of our brothers and sisters
across Guyana are faced with the worst
disaster we have ever had, or they have
ever had, in the history of our country,”
President Irfaan Ali said this week
after returning from communities in
the west near Venezuela. “I spoke to
the people where their entire lives have
been destroyed. The scale of the disaster
is misunderstood by those of us in
Region Four (the capital). And when
you speak about the impact I am telling
you about the farmer, over the last four
generations who had livestock that is no
longer there today,” he said.
Continued from Page 3
are responsible for the overwhelming
majority of firearms that end up on
our streets,” he added.
Myrie said neighborhoods like
Brownsville, Crown Heights and East
Flatbush were granted no such protection.
“For that, our people — especially
young people of color — have too
often paid with their lives,” he said.
“Responsible gun companies do not
need special legal protections from
lawsuits. Irresponsible gun companies
do not deserve them.
“Our goal in passing this legislation
is to incentivize responsible behavior
in the marketplace, and encourage
the gun industry to enact the strongest
possible safeguards against illegal
purchases, gun trafficking and other
actions that allow their products to
end up on our streets,” Myrie continued.
“Today’s victory would not have been
possible without the tireless dedication
and commitment of our partners
and allies, especially Assemblymember
Patricia Fahy, who led the charge in
the other house,” he said.
Most important, the senator said
Tuesday’s vote is “dedicated to victims
of gun violence and their families who
live in communities like mine.
“It is their needs, their safety and
their well-being that we in public life
have an obligation to protect, and it is
in their honor that I urge the governor
(Andrew Cuomo) to sign this bill,”
Myrie said.
Continued from Page 3
Heavy duty machinery almost submerged
in a mine in western Guyana
from heavy rains. Kamal Persaud
New York State Senator Zellnor
Myrie, D-Brooklyn, attends a news
conference where Gov. Andrew
Cuomo signed a bill to allow for
advance voting, Thursday, Jan. 24,
2019, in New York. Associated Press/
Mark Lennihan, fi le
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