The slow and painful disappearance of the old New Amsterdam Hospital

Jun 13, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Can we turn our attention away from the slow death of the old New Amsterdam Hospital to the human beings who have literally been tearing the thing down?
While much or all of the focus on this issue in the media and in the streets has been fuelled by the anger of the destruction of such an architectural wonder, not much emphasis has been placed on downright unethical human behaviour of persons who have physically been dismantling the entire block of the hospital for months and even years now.
There has been activity in what has been left of the old hospital on a 24-hour basis, yes, in broad daylight, and even in view of law enforcers. This is certainly illegal what these vagrants and ‘junkies’ and even “normal” individuals who reside right in Berbice have been doing to ensure a dollar earned by selling pieces of wood, concrete, glass and iron from a facility that once required a lot of money to build. It is equivalent to looting, what we’ve seen on many occasions in this Guyanese society.
This social repercussions the vandalism of the old hospital has spoken volumes to our Guyanese society. It has some serious implications. There has been no regard for the law and authority. People’s values become distorted in that stealing, in this case, does not become a crime when the items are not protected.
In other words, it became quite alright to carry on with the daily stealing and removal because it seemed okay to do so, and the building was not under any security watch.
What has our society and its stakeholders done to put a stop to the rampant stealing of materials off of the old hospital? Our society has lost its identity; our people have lost their identity with nationalism, to protect their country, to preserve their country, to build their country, not to destroy and tear down.
How can we forget the old hospital is more than an architectural wonder? It is a literary symbol that once gave life to thousands ever since it was established.
It was a structure that once housed the best medical teams in this part of the Caribbean, consisting of young men and women, too, whose professional nursing skills brought out the best in them and to whom they tended.
The old hospital in New Amsterdam was once alive with a hub of activities, medical emergencies, breakthroughs, lives being saved, sadness of deaths, joys of new life and birth; it was and still is a house of memories for many. It was a place where many turned to for healing, both physical and emotional. This old hospital was a beacon of the health system in British Guiana and Guyana, under several sitting governments; it stood the test of times.
In this country, we have no time with historical structures! No time!
Today, this building that gave life and meaning to the purpose of life, that nurtured and cared for the sick and invalid, that housed hope in every sense of the word, is now not only abandoned, but has been vandalized and destroyed by persons who some may say don’t know any better.
But don’t they? Is what they’re doing every day in that compound in Charles Place “making an honest living?” Is carting off truckloads and cartloads of wood and concrete in bright daylight as police vehicles pass the block right in the eyes of our “upright” and “religious” society — one that has been endowed with laws and mores and values?
Are the buyers of these materials even conscience of what they are doing, or has the tough economic times and high costs for building materials blurred their moral principles?
How our value system must have failed, that our society has now produced persons who seek what which belongs to the State and to every honest taxpayer in this country.
It is indeed sad. What is happening daily to the old New Amsterdam Hospital is therefore a stark reflection of the abysmal anti- social behaviours which pervades one of the most religious towns in Guyana, with more churches per square inch than any other part of this country.
The cries come by people, yes, we are all saddened to lose this magnificent edifice (we did from the day it was abandoned), but where are the cries against our fellow man who seem not to be bothered one bit about their daily actions.
Human behaviour today knows no rationality. We destroy, we kill, we belittle, be victimize, we steal. Are you telling me that the government or the law enforcement authorities, if they were one bit serious of their jobs, couldn’t secure the entire hospital block or occupy the structure immediately after it was abandoned completely so that the new “gem” could have been occupied? Even the new “gem” is a haven for unethical practices and behaviours too, today, but they happen within walls and behind closed doors. It is hidden from the watchful eyes of the public.
The authorities have all expressed their “condolences” to the general public about the slow and painful “death” of the old New Amsterdam Hospital .
It was, after all, the most they could have done. One thing is striking. We have heard many stories of ‘ghosts’ and ‘jumbies’ within the old hospital. I guess them, too, have abandoned the structure and let the vagrant carpenters work their hammers and saws in peace.
That building began its demise because of the negligence of the Ministry of Health and the so- called groups and organisations which we have in Berbice.
They have all failed to be advocates to preserve the structure. In Guyana, too, there is a trend that if a building is unoccupied, then it becomes a free-for-all.
The press did not do its utmost during the early stages of the destruction to raise awareness about the matter. The media were also negligent to report any such acts of vandalism and thieving which were taking place years ago. Then, we had a hospital which fell within the ambit of a town council, the New Amsterdam Mayor and Town Council, one of the most pathetic governing bodies we have in this country.
They, too, added to this old hospital becoming what it has become today.
As Guyanese, as Berbicians, we must hold our own selves accountable for that building’s horrendous demise. We seek to point the fingers when we should only be pointing them to ourselves. This society has gone crazy.
Even though the pretty face, the graceful limbs, the colourful clothing and the powerful control centers of this beautiful edifice are gone; this historic institution will always remain a fertile page in the annals of nostalgia for all those who were fortunate enough to tread its hallowed halls.
We must tell our children and future generations the story of the old New Amsterdam Public Hospital.
Leon Jameson Suseran

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