"I am seriously considering leaving this country, my children are still traumatised by the ordeal. They don't want to play in the yard anymore and it is killing me to see them like this..."

These were the words of Gowkarran Pooran, who was hit on the head when he suddenly came face to face with three gun-toting bandits at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara on February 11. On that date the three bandits had broken into the home of 51-year-old Mohamed Omar and shot him two times in the head before escaping with large amounts of money and jewellery.

On their way out of the area, they encountered Pooran, who was jogging. They hit him on the head with a gun butt, before commanding him to lie on the road.

Speaking to Stabroek News on Tuesday, Pooran, who had to have the injury stitched, said since the incident two of the bandits had returned to the area and were "eye balling" them. According to the man, the very next evening after the incident two of the bandits returned to the area after dark and were seen walking. But by the time the police were called the men had fled the area. He reported that on Tuesday evening last the two men were again seen in the area.

He said it grieves his heart to see his 12-year-old son and ten-year-old daughter afraid to play in the yard after school.

"That was their normal routine after school. But now they don't want to do it anymore. They don't even want to feed the dogs when the afternoon comes. It is really scary to watch my children suffer like this. Sometimes I want to go mad," the man lamented.

He said even though he had changed his jogging routine, his family was still scared that bandits might attack him again. He said his house was surrounded by high fences and the gate was always padlocked, but his family was still afraid of an attack.

Pooran appealed for more police patrols in their area. He said most of the residents around him were scared. "We normally keep Bible studies in our home and the other one of the neighbours related to my wife how scared she was since the bandits were sighted in the area again. But what she did not know was that my wife is also scared sick and she is just putting up a brave front."

The man feels that there should be some form of counselling provided for families that suffer at the hands of bandits, since he said these incidents can sometimes destroy families.

"We need counselling and therapy for robbery victims. But this country does not offer this. That is why we are willing to run from our country and give somebody else a shot who places more value on our lives," the man said.

He once again recalled the youthfulness of the three bandits; he estimated that none of them was older than 17.

Pooran, who is an electrical air conditioning contractor, and who holds the contract for the Office of the President, State House and other government buildings, said he did not know how the many victims coped after brutal attacks by bandits.