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Primitive and nonchalant attitudes towards aesthetics and cleanliness in our country

Apr 09, 2013 Letters

 

Dear Editor
At the time of writing this, I have just returned from a walk at the Georgetown seawall. On the journey there my mood was slightly depressed by the sight of accumulating food and beverage containers, plastic bags and general garbage on the grounds of the National Park and the surrounding trenches. The same situation was perpetuated among the stones and the walkways of the seawall.
I can say I was only slightly depressed because, as a Guyanese, I have become desensitized to the garbage in the trenches, rooted along the parapet and blowing in the wind. It seems as Guyanese we have accepted this state and garbage has become a natural part of our life.
We are devolving as a culture, there are hardly any aesthetic values being promoted by the people in charge of running the country. What is being promoted is selfishness and rampant materialism. But it must be recognized that respect is currency and any foreign diplomat or head of state visiting Guyana will fail to supply us with either, because we do not respect ourselves and have no pride in the upkeep of our country.
To make a comparison to another country on similar economic footing, we only need to look to our neighbour Suriname. Travelling from the ferry landing in Suriname to Nickerie I can challenge any Guyanese to find a single scrap of plastic or other eyesore along the road. I have not travelled to Paramaribo recently, but I would be surprised if this is not also the case there.
Cleaning up Guyana is not an impossible task, but will is required, political and otherwise. We need regular messages on state TV, radio and print to educate and inculcate the populace in a culture of responsibility for our surroundings.
We don’t need people to pick up the garbage; we need them to stop littering in the first place. There are garbage collectors for that. I really believe fines should be put in place to penalize those who litter and flood the public areas with garbage. People should also be made responsible for the cleanliness directly in front of their premises on penalty of a fine.
These measures may seem harsh, but drastic action is required if this ugly condition is to be reversed.  Perhaps the government can collude with the private sector to provide garbage containers and disposal units in public gathering places.  The use of bio-degradable food containers and packaging can be incentivized and plastic and other perpetual containers penalized. Start a recycling program if it is feasible; find a way to make if feasible if it’s not.
I believe that a majority of Guyanese have a sense of beauty and cleanliness in their makeup, because this is evidenced in the gardens one regularly sees in the yards of this country.  But the government must take the lead on this issue.
Make Guyana a country we will be proud of living in.
Yogistra Anderson

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