These demigods should hang their heads in shame

Jan 11, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,

It is with utter disgust that I read the Kaieteur News report about the attacks by Minister Benn and the Town Council on the attempts by citizens to beautify their surroundings.

I see the incidents as petty, childish and vindictive. The Mayor and the Minister, as they seek to play out these ‘who is the boss’ scenarios are reeking havoc in the lives of decent citizens.

What is the point of vandalizing the bridge on the West Demerara and now the man’s plant pots in front of his business? They should go and do likewise in Georgetown that was once the Garden City, but is now labeled the ‘Stink City’. On a recent visit there with some friends, I was thoroughly embarrassed to see the deterioration. Here we were, a group of Caribbean nationals revisiting our home countries.

We went to Tortola, Antigua, St Kitts, Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad and Guyana. Guyana was the dirtiest of the lot. The place where we stayed, the owner complained that he had placed sand and planted crotons where there was once grass and junk. He said a truck swooped down and destroyed the plants and stole his sand citing the law that he was ‘encumbering’ the parapet.

They left Bourda Market and Stabroek Market that need cleaning; all those big clogged trenches to clean and dismantled the man’s property.

Even in Cuba, where I studied, Castro encourages people to plant flowers and decorative plants as part of his Green Revolution.

These demigods should hang their heads in shame. They have taken us back to the 18th century. They still can’t get a proper sewerage system; pit latrines are still in schools and lights and water are a luxury. Telephones and Internet are a wish; proper cable television and freedom are an illusion.

‘Cleopatra’