Some people really made my Christmas great

Dec 25, 2011 Features / Columnists, My Column

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Today is a day that almost all Guyana worked and waited for all year. I know that in the United States people simply live for Thanksgiving. In Guyana, people live for Christmas. Everyone seems to go berserk; spending as though there is no tomorrow.
I happened to be in the heart of the city and I watched the spending frenzy. In some cases it appeared that some people were holding back, picking up only necessities, but there were those who were gobbling up bargains or at least what was touted as bargains.
Mobile phones seemed to be the in thing, with the BlackBerry topping the list. Everyone appeared to simply want to connect to everyone else, with Facebook being the medium of choice. At least they are reading, but the language leaves a lot to be desired. To understand how pervasive this form of communication is, all one has to do is read some of the messages.
They write in abbreviated language. ‘U’ becomes ‘you’ and to my chagrin, I actually encountered this in some of the news items that reporters plunked on my computer. But the bosses have been in a most magnanimous mood because they shelled out bonuses and fuelled the spending frenzy.
There are other social events at this time. Just about everyone wants to inveigle the young people out of their homes. As a boy, Christmas was a time when my parents insisted that we kept to our homes.  They all said that the season is one for family, and I did come from a large family. We were eight children.
There are the many parties, each promising to be better than the other. Some organisers are bringing in foreign entertainers. Every time I hear the announcements, I wonder whether these entertainers do not celebrate Christmas in their homes. It is the same in the United States. There are some big basketball games on Christmas Day. People leave their homes in their thousands to attend these games. I suppose that is Christmas for them. Every man kisses his wife differently.
This Christmas in Guyana has also come at a time when the political landscape has undergone a radical change. For the first time there is a minority government headed by a man who seems keen to talk to the political opposition and to grant concessions never before granted in the history of the country.
In the three weeks since he has assumed office there has been a mood of optimism. All of a sudden people find that they can talk about so many things that they were scared to. For example, I cannot remember someone taking a picketing exercise to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This happened after Donald Ramotar came to office.
Then there was the police action against people like Kwame McCoy and Odinga Lumumba. This never happened in the recent past. People started to talk about two laws in Guyana—one for the friends of the government and another for the common man.
At no time could I remember the political opposition seeking and getting the government to postpone convening Parliament. This has happened under Donald Ramotar, whose wife has said that her husband is a man who talks to people.
Before the elections I had many conversations with him. He was so friendly that I could not imagine in my wildest dreams that he would one day lead this country. I have not set eyes on him since his inauguration and I certainly have not spoken to him.
I still remember his anger when some sections of the media ignored his invitation to breakfast. But that passed. Gordon Moseley was one of those who did not attend but as soon as the President was inaugurated he lifted the ban that Bharrat Jagdeo had imposed on Moseley. That ban precluded Moseley from attending anything at Office of the President and at State House.
Donald Ramotar is, however, one of those things that would help to make the season bright. There is also David Granger. He was a simple man with whom I played chess and walked along Homestretch Avenue in the wee hours of the morning.
From his corner he saw that the government was abusing the people of the country and he came out to mount a challenge for the leadership of the country. It was a damned good challenge and he narrowly missed the presidency.
He made many young people politically aware and he got them involved. He has not been saying too much, but quietly he is helping to fashion the kind of society that Guyana should be. He put aside acrimony to meet with Donald Ramotar hours after the latter was elected President.
I was with him at school as I was with Henry Greene and Rupert Roopnaraine and Sam Hinds and Roger Luncheon. Perhaps people have good reason to conclude that Queen’s College has screwed up the country. Before these lads there were Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan and Rashleigh Jackson. Many things happened during the tenure of these people—most of them good but the bad stuck and became highlighted.
Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo and Raphael Trotman have also contributed to my Christmas. They helped fashion the minority government. They are now the powerbrokers. Besides, Ramjattan is the lawyer for the newspaper for which I write, so I need to mention him because anything could happen for the worse.
On Friday I happened to be filming some episodes for the annual satirical programme that Prime News presents. One episode was shot outside Freedom House and a passing woman remarked that I must be the biggest black jackass in the country. What prompted that comment? I had to say, “I am the greatest civic around.”
So I am going to relax today. I will accept some of the invitations I have got since I virtually live alone and I am going to do something that is no longer a common pastime. I am going to read a book that I started months ago and could never find the time to finish it.
But before that, I am going to call my sisters and brother and children who reside overseas. This has really been a good year and this will be a great Christmas. Merry Christmas.

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