Have we not suffered enough under the ‘us and dem’ syndrome?

Sep 24, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
I cannot say that I am materially rich as yet and neither can I say that I enjoy the best of health at present but I could have been in another man’s land working to build his nation but I opted not to.
I chose to come home and do whatever I can to contribute to nation building.
In this time when many see Guyana’s future as bleak, I believe we as a nation at home or in the Diaspora should realize that we are all Guyanese at the end of the day and we are a people who need each other.
Our nation has suffered for a long enough time because of divisive, self-serving vices and the people have spoken at the polls. It is a crying shame that some who believed it was their birthright to remain in the walls of power are still disillusioned or cannot get it into their thick skulls to say the least and move on.
Were you of the people, by the people for ALL PEOPLE (Democracy) you would have still been in office but that is clearly not the case. That’s another story by itself.
Beyond selfish thinking, I believe we need to be each other’s keepers. Crime is consuming us and creating fear for us all. All of us, as EMPLOYED OR UNEMPLOYED as we are, are feeling the squeeze in some area of our lives, some more than others because of those we trusted to be in charge before in the recent as well as the distant past. So disrespected are we that Venezuela wants to take away that which is rightfully ours.
We are a divided nation and be you Indian or African or whatever, we are all Guyanese who will either grow together as a united people or die as a divided nation and when we do, those we leave behind us will be servants seeking a better life in another nation to be scoffed at.
Yes, some of us have suffered injustices under the past government and we want revenge but what good is revenge when it only serves to create an even bigger divide. Decades later where are we as a people, as a nation? Have we not suffered enough under the ‘us and dem’ syndrome, as the greed of a selected few in an inner circle became rich.
I personally believe that we were not born in this rich land by chance and none of us can be truly happy unless we stop looking at each other as us and them.
We can either see this new season as one that brings us hope of unity, one that makes us strong as a nation or we will all suffer. I have seen my homeland, our Guyana cry with tears of mothers as their sons’ blood painted the streets and I wonder why it is so.
We all have a part to play in making Guyana the gem of the Caribbean that it really is. It is not by chance that we are geographically positioned where we are, and outsiders know this because they see what we can be and they want what we have yet we are busy fighting each other blindly. Yes we have our personal issues but if we cannot change when circumstances demand, why should others even consider much less respect us as a people?
For too long we have been divided and the time is ripe for change where all can be proud to say I AM GUYANESE! A chain is only as strong as its weakest link so it’s either we provide support for one another or we will be disrespected as weak divided fools.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms the horror of the shade yet ye must be unafraid knowing that we are the captains of our soul and the ship called Guyana. The change starts with the man or woman in the mirror; stop littering, pick up that paper.
A people united can never be defeated! Until the day I die I shall forever be proud to say I am Guyanese and I am for Guyana! If you feel the same despite your race I suggest you do the same.
Mondale Smith

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