Guyana is not that bad

Nov 20, 2012 Editorial

Guyana is not necessarily a devilish state in which to live. Rather, it is safer than most and one must give credit to a culture of respect for the elderly, religion, and a case of brute force when the occasion arises. However, this is changing rapidly because children are being taught to respect themselves above all others, to abstain from religion because religion is the root of most conflicts, and to inflict violence where they feel necessary in the pursuit of their objective.
This is because of the quality of what passes for parenting. Gone are the days when values were taught, when the issues of right and wrong were as clear as daylight and where respect was the order of the day. There are still people who spoke of being so respectful of their teachers that the respect bordered on fear. No child would be seen in a public social frequented by a teacher.
People in rural Guyana still talk about the days when a young person dared not pass an elderly person without a greeting. This tradition is still entrenched in communities like Bartica, the more distant communities of East Coast and East Bank Demerara, Essequibo Coast and parts of the Corentyne.
The reason is that the big city influence has not spread as fast although there have been interactions between the already lost generation who live in the city and the hinterland and rural communities where the parental and community influences are so strong.
It is not a coincidence that the best performing children are those from the rural areas. This year’s top regional performer at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council hailed from the Essequibo Coast. This trend explains the incidence of crime in the city and its environs. For some reason parents do not pay attention to their children with the result that these children soon develop errant behaviour.
When these children suffer some hardship, most likely at the hands of the law or some public spirited citizens, the parents seek to profess their children’s innocence or accuse those who cause harm to their children of brute force which sometimes is used as people vent their feelings.
A recent study showed that society fashions these children. This explains why in the absence of good role models the children, particularly the boys, look to those who appear to lead a colourful life. They do not see that more often than not these role models often come to a brutal end. The present situation is not irreversible. Perhaps too much emphasis is placed on the school which is sometimes placed in strange situations when parents seek to chastise those teachers who try to ensure the stability of the child.
The records would show that such behaviour is most common in the capital where there is the greatest concentration of people and the bulk of the business places. Correspondingly, one would have expected most of the youth clubs in the city but these have disappeared.
Given that the city is not as large as people would want to believe and given that the crime hotspots are the depressed areas, one would expect more police patrols in those areas. In the outer world the police know where to concentrate their efforts. At the drop of a hat multiple squad cars would descend on areas considered crime hotspots. This is because the police know about nipping crime in the bud.
In Guyana there are those who know that Guyana is a country that has lost many of those capable of ensuring morals. The result is that they seek to fill that breach. They seek to adopt schools and by extension, the children. They host events that they hope would serve to channel children in the right direction but the environment in which these children live does not lend support.
In cases where these children reach out for support some are molested. Guyana is seeking to plug this loophole.
All in all there needs to be some enforcement of the rules of society. Only then will people realize that Guyana is not the devil some are wont to believe.

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