'No Protests,' urges family of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge, reject calls to delay funeral

Guyana: The family of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge has made a public appeal urging citizens to respect their wishes and stay calm as they prepare to lay their daughter to rest. Younge’s funeral is rumoured to take place today, however the family has not announced an official date yet.  

Lewis Amika, a close relative of the Younge family addressed the growing calls of delaying Adrianna Younge’s funeral and pushing for a second post-mortem result. This was addressed in a statement released on Saturday, where it was also said that the family rejects those protests and calls for a peaceful burial.  

“We do not agree to condone this action. We will bury Adrianna in a peaceful manner on Monday. Honour Adrianna and the wishes of her family. No Protests!” the statement read.  

This statement from the family comes after a series of protests and intensifying tensions across Guyana after Adrianna Younge’s death. Protestors have been out on roads lighting up stores and staging intense protests. Several cases of looting and robbery have also been reported during this time.  

As per recent reports, several Hindu Temples in Guyana were also vandalised and robbed out of protests fueling religious tensions across the country. The government also imposed a curfew to limit the protests and handle the situation, however, protests still remained same.  

It's been more than 10 days since Adrianna Younge’s death, the family now wishes to have a peaceful funeral. Although, concerns have been raised for a second post-mortem by locals, the family of Younge wishes to give their daughter a peaceful goodbye.  

The result from the first autopsy performed over Adrianna Younge’s body through a team of pathologists including a government appointed pathologist and a family appointed pathologist have confirmed that the 11-year-old kid died of drowning in the swimming pool. In response to the result of the autopsy, the father of Adrianna Younge stated that the decision is of ‘No Result.’ 

Younge’s death has sparked a lot of public attention, not just from Guyana, but from the wider Caribbean due to the suspicious circumstances she died in.