Merry Christmas, dear Countrymen and women

Dec 25, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir. And folks dressed up like Eskimos…Although it’s been said, many times, many ways Merry Christmas to you.”
So, another year has almost passed and Christmas is upon us again. It is the time of year when Christians reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ who they worship as their Lord and Saviour.
While Christmas is a festive season that represents peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind, our sympathy goes out to all those who are bed-ridden in hospitals and have lost loved ones during the year. This Yuletide season should serve as a period of reflection on our lives and how we must redouble our efforts in 2015 to live in peace and harmony and to make Guyana prosperous.
If there is ever a time when politics should take a holiday, that time is at Christmas when families come together to celebrate. It would be very easy to dwell on the negative, but in this blessed and joyous season, let us choose happiness and embrace the special joy of a Guyanese Christmas. Those who are able to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine in Guyana and its fine dishes: pepper pot, curry, cook-up, black cake and ginger beer should think of their sisters and brothers in the Diaspora who are overwhelmed with nostalgia at this time of the year.
Christmas is a time of healing and goodwill to all mankind. What more appropriate time can there be for us Guyanese to forget the hurt, the animosity, the persecution, the frustration and the bitterness of the past?
We call on each one of you to renew your spirit and love towards one another, hold out the hand of friendship to neighbours, friends; to those from whom we have been estranged and to the government which has done us wrong. Let us recapture the spirit of the message that brought joy to the world 2000 years ago by the Babe of Bethlehem.
Let us celebrate and be happy and pledge to work together to free Guyana from the monsters of poverty, crime, corruption, chronic unemployment and dictatorship. We must spare no effort to rid our beloved country from the dictators and return it to true and meaningful democracy.
In this festive season, we join our brothers and sisters to pray for Guyana and the prosperity of all Guyanese and for commonsense and understanding to prevail in their actions at all times. We also pray for peace, happiness and goodwill towards all and for love towards one another.
Perhaps the holidays will give our national leaders, especially those in the opposition, a chance to reflect on a plan that is inclusive of all in society, so that they can make better personal and political choices in 2015, embrace the new year as one of healing, atonement and cooperation, and provide genuine leadership to the nation.
There is no shortage of sharing and goodwill in Guyana, especially at this time of year. There are stories everywhere of people giving to the less fortunate, the elderly, and to children. There are many more acts of kindness being displayed throughout the holiday season but which are not reported.
To those who have and continue to extend a kind and helping hand to others, we thank you for a job well done. For if that display of human compassion helps to change the life of just one person for the better, it would have been worth the effort. However, the spirit of giving has not been made easy for many because of the poor state of the economy.
In fact, there are many others who wanted to give but are not in a position to do so because they could hardly provide for their families. This is the sad state the poor and the working class found themselves in, and nothing has been done to improve their lives. We call on the government to show compassion and heed the wishes of the poor.
Needless to say, the true meaning of Christmas continues to elude many Guyanese because of their poverty and unbearable living conditions. Too often, it is the greedy, not the needy; the rich and powerful and not the poor and the powerless that get the attention at Christmas.
We would be remiss if we did not express our deep concern and heartfelt love for the future of our beloved country that is plagued with problems—political, economic and social—too numerous to mention. We commend and admire those who are helping the poor, who through no fault of their own are struggling to make ends meet. Nothing much has changed in their lives during the past year and from all indications, this may be a very bleak Christmas for many of them who are becoming poorer by the day.
Our fervent wish in this season of goodwill is that all will put their shoulders to the wheel to help develop and build Guyana so that all, not only a selected few, can share in the bounties of its prosperity. We love politics but more importantly, we love Guyana and the people who are fighting for change.
God bless our beautiful Guyana and its resilient, loving and caring people. We remain proud of the people of Guyana and wish them a bright, successful and happy future and sincerely hope that they live to see and enjoy many more Christmases. We also would like to wish the Publisher Glenn Lall, Editor in Chief, Adam Harris and the entire staff of Kaieteur News a safe, happy and enjoyable Christmas.
Merry Christmas dear countrymen and women; we hope you enjoy the festive season in peace, love and happiness. May God bless our sisters and brothers and keep them safe.
Asquith Rose and Harish Singh

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