Can Guyana ever be returned to its former glory?

Jun 14, 2008 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Quite recently after listening to Hilton Hemerdins’ song “Beautiful Guyana which sings in part: “Land of jungle water fall and sweet sceneries…. and the people living in peace and harmony,” I couldn’t help thinking how misleading some of these lines are today, when we are assailed daily by the papers and T.V with gruesome and grisly headlines of all forms of human butchering.
Well„ well the political pundits can knock themselves out in the illusion that we are “one people -one nation one destiny,” I don’t see it, maybe only as a motto, but practically – no way! We are more that ever racially divided and a mass of individuals on the hunt to preserve self/ family.
The recent massacres/ killings have brought out in bold form- expectedly, many unpleasantness, forget the talk on the government controlled radio/ T.V and those make belief pontifications about one united people and preserving democracy.
Walk the streets, see and listen, its all to the contrary in all forms and colour; subtle, silent, brass face and even vulgar.
The things I hear, some alarming, some puzzling, some ridiculous, confusing and hopeless, and the way many allow themselves to be manipulated are all sorrowful- poison darts.
In the year 2002 I wrote “ this is the time when the majority of Guyanese have lost sight of even a twinkling at the end of the tunnel, only about one in every 20 seems optimistic about a better Guyana.” Now that we seem lost in a masquerade, how do we go about finding ourselves?
There are many who still stifle their true feelings, afraid of how they might be considered by their own race, and they do not want to be seen as against and lose favour.
Also partisan politics has been a culprit in this regard, we remain steadfast in the face of blatant wrongs and injustices to others.
The massacres and other horrific killings have caused all sorts of nasty racial remarks by one ethnic group to another, all forms of nasty descriptive adjectives and epithets.
But when the fury, the hurt and emotions subside and the dust settles, we will have to sincerely look at some harsh reality and deal with our problems in an impartial way.
Bishop Edgill is correct when he said “It is time we seek the root causes of our problems and find out why people responsible for such acts, chose that path….”. We need to look beyond the killings by “mindless murderers” and heavy armoury to find the real issue- the tree couldn’t stand without its root.
I have heard complains from afro Guyanese small businessmen about Indian big businessmen having two prices; one for their own kind and another ( higher) price for blacks, of not selling them scarce commodities even though “ I is a regular”.
These and other forms of discrimination and unwholesome behaviour they have termed silent, nonviolent forms of massacre. Then there are those black intellectuals who don’t give a toss about the conditions of their kind, once they are among the privileged.
On both sides of the divide in the two-major race camps are “carefully nurtured fears” well preserved and potentially voilatile, at the ready, to be exploited by even more dangerous rogue elements whenever they feel the earth move from under their feet.
These are some condition that we are consumed by today, and must seek to extricate our selves from. Some one said to me that the question is not so much when and where we fell but morso, where we slipped before the fall. So how do we pick ourselves up be the boot lace?
First and foremost we need sincere people who truly believe in the good of one Guyana and all its people.
Leaders who from deep down care, too often we are unfortunately saddled with feckless “ narcissistic charlatans” (according to R. Burkas leaders who have set by example the tone, whereby people have come to accept their Machiavellian theory that politics is a mere science of deals played like a game of poker; hence the bluffs, deceits, chicanery and misdeeds are inevitable, and cleverness, craftiness and callousness are the principal ingredients combined to exploit others (masses) and for self-agrandisement, nothing virtuous must be expected, except by chance.
Then secondly the people and their various leaders must seriously challenge the statusquo and fight for the retooling of system which must be programmed to be in harmony with the needs of the working class-masses.
When I think of the $50 million reward to hunt down a criminal, I’m really confused and all puzzled, when tralect that five hundred thousand- dollars for a live saving surgery to a child is not approved; and a family man who goes begging for a soft loan to get on his feet is turned down with disdain, 1 sigh.
Let us get real, desperate minds are not all from birth, many are also created by social and material conditions, the quality of our system.
I’m often amazed that we are always so keen and studious about how one dies but never in the least way show similar interest on how they are fighting to survive.

Is n’t this civilization turned upside down?
In passing, I need mention that the police forces’ performance in this whole episode has been mediocre and a dismal failing and not surprising.
There have been accusations of hired guns in the force, and the sluggish responses to the many 911 calls have raised many questions.
The reckless targeting, arrests, torture and killings of known and innocent individuals, and the maltreatment towards suspected victims families/relatives and the poor and powerless have stirred the wrath of many.
These opposite combinations have caused the public at large to lose confidence and goodwill in the police. No wonder the system keeps short circuiting so often.
Then we become all hysterical and alarmed, when all along we consciously blind our eyes to an amorphous and lopsided social / economic conditions that we have allowed to “fester simply because we are doing just fine,I know of someone who, right now cannot get a job because he does not have $24,000 to do a scan test at the government public hospital.
These are the real causes that provide the spring board for various forms of behaviour that need to be addressed.
A sudden rush to implement new laws and beef up security of an imbalanced system will not suffice, it will eventually buckle.
What goes around comes around, and only the truth can save us and set us free.
Guns are only a small part of the solution, if the rulers truly believe so, then they are having a terrible delusion.
Frank Fyffe

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