And, as you heard, those soldiers - many of them members of the BDF band - were on their way from the funeral for 23 year old Private 23-year-old Micha Miguel. She committed suicide at a relative's home in Ladyville on July 29th - under some very cloudy circumstances. The family has said that she had been assaulted at the BDF Price Barracks Compound - later reports suggest serial physical and sexual abuse.
Her family is outraged at the BDF because they say enough wasn't done to protect Miguel, especially since she was reportedly released prematurely while on Suicide Watch.
Today the media got to put those tough questions to Lieutenant Colonel and acting Chief of Staff Jermaine Burns:
Cherisse Halsall:
"The allegation from Micah's people is that she was bullied, beaten, and raped, I don't know if that's all by one individual, how does that strike you have come up through the ranks of the culture of this organization?"
Lieutenant Colonel Burns, Acting Chief Of Staff
"Hmph, An accusation of that nature I have daughters four of whom are teenagers, I have three. adult daughters. The fact that has been. in this organization for 23 years and never heard of something so so brutal being done to a female I was distraught initially. I was. very very concerned about the way the, I would say the culture has changed. I. don't believe that. I didn't believe then that we would have people of the sort in our organization. You would imagine that names were called right, names I cannot disclose here because I may get a lawsuit after but names were called and it's a good thing that. those names were called because the names were called, the investigation would immediately go to them and we were told and. told only that again speculation but there are text messages there are pictures out there and I hope that those text messages and pictures get to the right persons that are investigating this case. I hope that those. persons are dealt with with the strictest regulations against them if it is in fact that they come into question for this matter. because Micah is gone. While her memory will live on the only honourable thing we can do is to give her family some sort of justice and herself so that is what we are committed to doing."
