In order for us to succeed, we need to pay the price of success

May 29, 2012 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
The 46th Anniversary of Guyana’s Independence was recently celebrated, and as the country continues to offer its obligatory respects, some stock taking is in order to give greater consideration to what Independence meant in 1966, what has been achieved or not achieved since, and what Independence really means today and, further, to what lies beyond Independence.
Independence Day will always be a significant milestone in the history of our nation. Four decades on from this major event, with memories of the British Empire fading sharply or non-existent on both sides of the Atlantic, is it possible at this stage of our maturation to redefine ourselves and our relationships and emerge completely out of the shadow of colonialism? What could be of greater value than Independence?
In ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey, the very first words written in this book are unforgettable, summarising, it appears, the crux of the text: “Interdependence is a higher value than independence.”
Stephen Covey goes on to state that ‘Interdependence is a choice only independent people can make.’
This progression in the development of human abilities, the Maturity Continuum – from states of dependence to independence and thence to interdependence reflects also a progression in the development of the state. The state cannot progress beyond the abilities of its people.
In relation to us as a nation of diverse people with diverse histories, culture, habits, fortunes, we need to give consideration to the meaning of interdependence and independence on at least two other levels: internally in terms of our group dynamics and externally as a nation, in terms of our diverse role, needs and relationships within the International Community.
Internally, as a nation, what we are trying to achieve is that synergy that emerges from healthy, creative cooperation and collaboration: teamwork. It is simply impossible to progress to this goal on a national scale unless each group within the country feels or begins to feel whole, accomplished, independent, mature, confident and at ease.
The country underestimated, considering our history and the need to re-establish and reconstruct various identities (intangibles that develop over generations typically), the difficulty of this process of growth and even the awareness of the process itself is questionable.
However, our human spirit is indomitable and constantly drives us on in search of clarity and we, Guyanese, do not fail to strive and make the effort in a direction of clarity around our social, political and identity issues.
If we come to understand the process and come to acknowledge clearly that we – each ethnic, religious group and/or individual – are on a path of inquiry and development with a goal of greater self-knowledge, then the ‘striving’ ends. And with it, the strife can end too. We can simply each work towards our goal in a more relaxed, less desperate manner. If we don’t know the goal or the end game or the path or the process, then desperation and confusion characterise our effort and in this state of mind it is easy to feel ‘lost’ or ‘marginalised’ or threatened and herein lies opportunity for the dividers and exploiters.
Our politicians have not failed to seize the opportunity to tap into our confusion. There are many forces of division operating at many different levels that seek to keep the people of the world in conflict: divide and rule. Our politicians have learned well.
If we consider the simplistic model that the PPP/PPP/C and the PNC/PNCR/APNU use consistently to select Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates. Ethnic voting is a conscious part of the design and choosing the prime ministerial candidate is an act of deception for in order to support their model of ethnic voting, conflict has to be created and sustained.
Some target has to be selected and harassed (e.g. Regent Street, Business community, Linden). This model is in direct opposition to the development and support of unity, peace and stability and completely conducive to domination and subordination of one race of rulers over another. Yet, every election cycle, this goes on, in the hope of a quick fix remedy to attaining political power.
Forty years plus since Independence from colonial power, we have come to understand the politics of division and the abuse of race and this model has exhausted its usefulness. Interdependence among different ethnic groups in Guyana is only truly possible now with a greater momentum and on a larger scale than before.
We must understand that this progression is quite consistent with the Maturity Continuum. It will help us to view the PPP and the PNC and history with kindness instead of ridicule. This is not to absolve these two political parties of wrongdoing, but rather it is more empowering and useful for us to learn from the mistakes and errors committed in the past. There is no constructive value to be found in blame.
None of us are perfect, unfortunately. We have learned lessons, at the heavy cost of lives lost, both internally in terms of our group dynamics – we have learned about the absolute futility of the deployment of violence as a means to achieving unity or development; we have come to see that corruption and abuse of power is not constrained by ethnicity; we have learned that there is no quick fix and that the politics has to be guided by more long term goals; we have learned that there is room for goodwill in politics – and externally in foreign policy, in terms of our relationships with superpowers.
We cannot avoid some attempt at interdependence at an international level. It is the only way to achieve growth and even security. We have learned from the episodes of nationalisation. We have learned about debt. We have learned about spending. There is a huge challenge here for the nation where external parties are self-interested and also corrupting (they will not be found on the corruption index). We know that Governments can be owned and operated. Without strong leadership focused internally on human development, the people of this country will continue to lose.
Internally and externally, more challenges continue to emerge. There is a serious challenge within the country to bring the national finances to order. The inability to provide accountability and transparency points to red flags that even Machiavelli cannot hide. What is so important about the Princess Hotel that legislation had to be enacted around it? That one of the first early acts of the new government was to create a further authority to manage it? What is motivating the focus on hotel construction? Why the absence of transparency? How does all of this align with the needs of the people of Guyana?
Considering our small population size, all good minds need to work together to help overcome these and other challenges that we face. We are not alone in the difficulties that we face as a nation. The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, on the Julian Assange show on rt.com spoke of the difficulty of change versus the comfort of the status quo. He said, “sometimes it is essential to deal with things – corruption, we have to deal with it. Abuse of power – we have to tackle it. Lying – we have to tackle it. Social vices such as these – so damaging to our society, we cannot allow.”
Ultimately, we have moved on. It is a prehistoric attitude to frame the politics in the country as a racial problem. We have problems of greed, insolence, ignorance and ill will. We have corruption, abuse of power and mismanagement of funds, among other difficult challenges. The ignorant and the ill willed should not rule.
The people of Guyana have the hard task before them of believing in themselves, believing that we can succeed where we have failed before and where others have failed. We only need look at the way we live our life, our friendships, our teachers, our families and bring our politics into alignment with our way of life.
In order for us to succeed, we need to pay the price of success. We have to stand up for our nation and play our part. We have to hear more from the honest, hardworking people of the country. We have to do the hard work of understanding ourselves first and foremost – create a more open society, communicate with kindness and respect, talk about relationships, support each other culturally, religiously, socially and allow each other freedom and space to grow, to develop, to choose and to become more self aware – and really establish our Independence and consolidate a foundation for our Interdependence.
Sandra Khan

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