From the Diaspora…So here I am in Guyana experiencing all the highs and lows

Jun 24, 2012 News

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By Ralph Seeram

It was a long, exhausting hot and sticky day, but I am not complaining. I can “man up” without air conditioning. After all, I “born and grew up in New Amsterdam”. I can take whatever is served up to me except when I want my shower. I have to take a shower before I go to bed at night; it is the highlight of my day.
So here I am enjoying a cool bath washing the day’s grime and sweat when it happened, BLACKOUT, total darkness in the shower, what’s going on here I wondered forgetting that I was in Guyana and not Florida,
Welcome to Berbice, welcome to New Amsterdam the land of blackouts. Naked and wet I was kind of stunned, figuring my next move when my relative shouted “Ah coming with de candle”.
My day started when I arrived at Cheddi Jagan airport at 1.30 in the morning after being a guest of Caribbean Airlines for the previous eight and a half hours. Yes, you are not a passenger of the airline any more. You are now a guest. I wish they treat their guests like Guyanese do; always make sure “you belly full”.
I was prepared for Caribbean Airline for this trip. I had my back up food, since one ounce of plantain chips from Orlando to Jamaica (yes they deceptively take you to Jamaica first even though when you booked the ticket it says first stop Trinidad) a baby sandwich from Jamaica to Trinidad and another one-ounce bag of chip from Trinidad to Guyana could not cut for me.
I was up at 6am after going to bed at 3.30am. In Georgetown the incessantly barking dogs make sure you are kept awake. I have no problem with that; its part of the experience I look forward to it.
First order of the day is a visit to Digicel headquarters on Barrack Street. I have become a slave to my Iphone, computer and Internet; I have to be connected, so anyone in the Diaspora visiting with the need to be connected whether it’s Iphone or Ipad needs to visit Digicel first.
Setting off to Berbice by 9.30am with my friend Mara, we stopped in New Amsterdam to drop off our “bundle” and headed to Crabwood Creek on the Corentyne courtesy of my friend “Django” to drop off gifts to relatives. There a delicious meal of labba awaited us along with some fresh fried snapper. I must have labba when I visit Guyana. The fried snapper flavour is a welcome relief from the frozen ones I get in Orlando.
This may not sound like a big deal to my local Guyanese readers, but to us in the Diaspora it’s an experience.
Back in New Amsterdam with my friend Gregory it was off to a “rum shop” in Canje that offers wild meat. If you need to know the mood of the Guyanese people you have to go to a “rum shop”.
I can tell you the conversation is not good from a PPP point of view, and I am in the heart of PPP country. Obviously, corruption dominated the conversation. I am not sure if those higher up in the PPP are aware but people are fed up and disgusted of the constant revelation of corruption and cronyism within the PPP Government.
From what I gathered, the PPP dare not think of snap elections; they will do worse. I get the feeling that people are waiting anxiously on President Donald Ramotar do something drastic to demonstrate that he is serious about eliminating grafts and corruption.
People are looking forward for him to rid himself of the Jagdeo “holdovers”. People view this holdover as a total liability to the President, and I am sure that he, President Ramotar, is aware of it.
However some feel that he is caught in a “catch 22” situation. How strong is his influence within the PPP hierarchy against former President Jagdeo, is the big question.
I have been told and shown examples of the rampant corruption in the Ancient County stronghold of the PPP. It became clear to me that if the PPP does not change course before the next election, it will lose the Presidency. President Ramotar needs to bear this in mind.
New Amsterdam is changing rapidly as evidenced by the spate of multi-story construction taking place in the town. The town is still as dirty as ever. While I am proud of the town I was born in, I feel I may have some hesitancy to encourage visitors.
Some who recognized me congratulated me on the article condemning the authorities for allowing the New Amsterdam Town Hall tower to crumble. A member of the committee established to help save the tower, Mavis Sukraj La Bennett, owner of Penguin Hotel, informed me that the decision was taken to pull the tower down after it was seen swaying during high winds.
Afraid of causing damage or possible loss of life the authorities decided that the tower be pulled down.
Here is the stupid part of this episode; I was informed that the New Amsterdam Town Council wants to preserve some wood from the fallen tower. What a joke. I was asked to mention that the large silver water tank that lies behind the historic Scots Church and adjacent to the prison farm on Vryheid Street is being corroded and rotting.
The tank should be preserved for historic purposes. For those too young to know, that tank along with one that was located around St. John Street served as a back up supply of water when water was scarce or when the old “water work” broke down.
Residents, including myself, went there to purchase a bucket of water for a cent or two cents; the water was rationed to ensure that everyone got a bucket. I hope this tank does not go the way of the former New Amsterdam Hospital and the Town Hall tower.
When I migrated from Guyana some thirty years ago, New Amsterdam had a 24-hour water supply and blackout was a relatively new word. Here more than thirty years later, those services have regressed, uncertain supply of water, blackouts without warning. So back to originally story. Here I am naked, wet and soapy in utter darkness, when the candle came to my rescue.
I finished my bath when the lights came back on, but I was deceived, while putting on my clothes, the lights went out again, this time for an extended period, and so  ended my first day back home, nineteen hours after I arrived  I am prepared for more surprises. I am here for the wedding of my nephew, Junior, who is getting married to the beautiful Amlata, I will be more than annoyed if a blackout occurs during the festivities or ceremony.
I did not come all the way from Florida for a BLACKOUT.
Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected]

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