GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — In an overwhelming display of grief, solidarity, and an unrelenting demand for accountability, hundreds recently gathered to lay 11-year-old Adriana Sueria Younge to rest, transforming her funeral into a powerful public appeal for justice.
Adriana, a Grade Six student at Parika Salem Primary School, was remembered as a bright, loving, and gentle soul whose life was tragically cut short. Her body was discovered two months ago on April 24 at the Double Day Hotel, sparking national outrage and an international call for answers that continues to reverberate across Guyana and beyond.
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The day of remembrance began early as mourners, many dressed in symbolic red shirts, arrived at Sandy’s Funeral Home in Pouderoyen to pay their final respects. As the crowd gathered, chants of “Justice for Adriana!” filled the air, echoing the deep frustration and heartbreak still gripping the community.
At 11:00 AM, Adriana’s white casket, adorned with pink and white flowers, was carefully placed in the hearse. The solemn procession made its way past her family home in Parika, giving loved ones and neighbors a final chance to say goodbye, before continuing to the Vergenoegen tarmac, where hundreds more awaited under white tents draped with soft pink fabric.
The funeral service unfolded beneath the afternoon sky, lasting until 4:00 PM, as a steady stream of tributes, poems, and reflections painted a picture of a young girl full of promise, love, and joy — a life stolen far too soon.
Family members, friends, classmates, and members of the wider public struggled to contain their grief, their sorrow woven with a deep sense of injustice. The ceremony was not only a farewell but a resolute call for answers, as the investigation into Adriana’s death continues to face intense scrutiny.
As her casket was lowered at the Vergenoegen Cemetery, the words of her eulogy lingered: “We remember Adriana as a light — one that must not be dimmed without accountability. Her memory demands justice.”
Adriana’s funeral, marked by its sheer scale and emotional weight, has left a community unified in mourning but steadfast in its pursuit of the truth. The chants for justice have not faded. If anything, they have grown louder.
