Murder of Jaisen Sooreea in Saint-Félix: the broken destiny of an exemplary son, of a young person with a big heart

The village of Suriname is in shock after the tragic disappearance of 22-year-old Jaisen Sooreea. The one everyone knew by the nickname Jenise was the victim of a savage attack on the night of Tuesday April 14, while he was at a party on the beach of Saint-Félix, in the south of the island.

Stabbed in the chest, he bled to death. Admitted to intensive care, Jenise breathed her last in the early hours of Wednesday. His alleged killer, Anandasamy Ponnan, 37, was arrested on Wednesday. He confessed.

On Katamaraz Street, in Suriname, the consternation is total. Jenise was a young person appreciated by everyone. “His boy zame finn fer dimal personn, enn mous li pa touye,” confided a relative, shocked by this fatal attack. A pain shared by Kaviraj Gopaul, his father-in-law, who was devastated. According to him, Jenise was respectful and obedient. “When we spoke to him, he listened attentively. He worked with me in distribution, then he stopped in February. As he was interested in mechanics, he wanted to learn. So, he started working as a mechanic with a friend,” he recalls.

“He had so many plans, like having his own car. He wanted to buy a Toyota Axio,” he adds. Additionally, he dreamed of building his own house. “He dreamed of owning his own home and worked towards it. He gradually saved to make his project a reality,” he explains. Convinced of his success, he described him as a serious and determined young man.

His day consisted of work and home. “He would leave early in the morning for work and come back in the afternoon, then play PUBG,” says his father-in-law. Very surrounded by friends, Jenise spent most of her time playing online with them and rarely went out. “He was an exemplary son,” he said, with a sinking heart.

The day of the tragedy, Jenise was at home. “His friends wanted to go to the beach of Saint-Félix. However, as it was raining, they waited for the weather to improve before going out. He told me that he was going to the beach for the party and that he would return before the end,” says Kaviraj. “I then received a call informing me of a fight on the beach of Saint-Félix and I had a bad feeling. I tried to call him, but he didn't answer. I also tried to contact his friends, without success,” he adds.

Then the worst happened. “I received another call saying Jenise had been stabbed. I was outside and I didn’t know how to tell his mother, but I had to,” he recalls. The couple then rushed to Souillac hospital, before being transferred to Jawaharlal Nehru hospital in Rose-Belle. “His condition was serious and he was in pain. When I saw him, he was still breathing and waved at me,” he continues.

The night was endless for the family, between hope and prayers. After surgery, he was