The crowded departure lounge signals progress but progress for whom Mr. Gill?

May 12, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Mr. Harry Gill in his letter to Kaieteur News of May 8, 2011, “What‘s all the fuss about Ramotar’s appointment?” specifically asked me to address some issues related to ethics in government and migration patterns, he also questioned my objectivity.
First, let me say that I don’t think Mr. Gill should be giving advice to anyone on objectivity as it relates to party politics in Guyana. As a strong and vocal supporter of the PPP regime, he has long since lost that right to pontificate on bias. The issues that I want to address, however, have to do with Mr. Gill’s simplistic views on immigration, and his explanation of the Donald Ramotar appointment.
Mr. Editor, it is Mr. Gill’s opinion that Mr. Donald Ramotar was appointed to “…prevent Jagdeo from making controversial remarks and decisions,” he further states that, “I believe that is the main goal of this appointment,” and to crown it all according to Mr. Gill, Ramotar has been advising Jagdeo all along, and he thinks this whole presidential advisory appointment was Ramotar’s idea. I am going to let those remarks by Mr. Gill stand. Intelligent people can examine them, and conclude based on the logical import of the statement as to the state of the presidency, and maybe even ponder or ask, “Who is running the country?”
Mr. Editor, in Mr. Harry Gill’s world everyone wants to go to America. In a letter to the Editor, Kaieteur News on May 6, 2011, “Whatever happened to the days when words like shame and honour meant something?” I demanded from the PPP leadership a reason for the continued mass migration from Guyana.
I was prompted to do this after President Jagdeo and Mr. Ramotar had laid out a rosy scenario of the economic conditions in the country at a meeting of PPP supporters in New York. Mr. Gill, in defence of the PPP wanted me to compare migration rates now against what they were during the Burnham era (30 years ago). May I remind Mr. Gill that before 1992, the PPP contended that the people of Guyana were running from a repressive PNC that they were voting with their feet?
The reasons given back then by the PPP were that there were no jobs, poor pay, declining education, victimization and no hope. I know Mr. Gill, you and the PPP would love to run against President Forbes Burnham, but you are a quarter of a century too late. President Burnham is not on the ballot this year, but Mr. Donald Ramotar is, and his party, the PPP/C, holds the reins of government.
Now according to you Mr. Gill, Mr. Ramotar has been advising this President all along, so with 27 Guyanese leaving every day for the United States (excluding the few businessmen and the wealthy who can afford a vacation), these people are leaving to take up permanent residence in the USA, like you, Mr. Gill. This number does not include those who are leaving for Canada, the UK, or those seeking jobs in the Caribbean and Africa.
Mr. Editor, the PPP has been in office for almost two decades, and people are still voting with their feet, and by the way, the list of reasons have grown to include; no jobs, poor pay, crime, drugs, declining education, corruption, constant flooding, fear, victimization, governmental neglect and no hope.
Yes Mr. Gill, people are free to travel, and the rich ones will have lots of money to take with them when they travel. Yes, the crowded departure lounge signals progress, but progress for whom? The airlines (there is an average of 10 flights out of Guyana every day), the economies of the traveler’s final destination? Sure, remittances and monies spent by expat-Guyanese benefit the local economy, but make no mistake Mr. Gill, you cannot develop a country without human resources. The PPP government has been in place for almost 20 years, and the exodus continues unabated. So you tell me Mr. Gill, are Guyanese still voting with their feet?
Mr. Editor, it is clear that this government and its supporters and advocates like Mr. Gill are intent on running away from the issues that face the nation today. Emigration is a serious issue that cannot be wished away by simply saying that everybody wants to go to America. I am sure that Mr. Gill knows that there is a cost associated with emigration, both financial and human.
With a population of less than a million people, we cannot afford to sustain this protracted attrition. The cost goes up exponentially when those who are leaving are university graduates, nurses, trained teachers and other skilled professionals. As Mr. Gill and those of his political ilk wax nostalgic about their “difficulties” during the Burnham era, thousands flee the land because of the difficulties of this PPP era. They are leaving Mr. Gill, not because they can or they want to, but rather because they have been given no other choice. One would have expected that the government would have taken this problem seriously and mounted a vigorous campaign to diversify and expand the economy, invest heavily in education, fight crime, combat drugs and work toward real national unity…..
Sure Mr. Gill, there are no bread lines in Guyana, but what is in short supply today pales in comparison. There is a shortage of leadership, vision and intellectual fortitude to fix what ails this country. There is a shortage of integrity and honesty at the highest levels of government. There is a shortage of compassion for our fellow man, and many of our youth with no credible examples have lost their way.
This is a damning indictment on your party, Mr. Gill, and regardless of how you and your colleagues choose to spin it, the lines tell the story, because President Burnham is dead, the PNC is not in power, and the people are still voting with their feet.
Mark Archer

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