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The Story within the Story…Two Diwalis and encouraging signs for the homeless
By Leonard Gildarie
There was some good news and some really bad news this past week. In keeping with tradition, I will start with the one that irked me the most. As Guyanese, we should never allow our country to face such a dilemma again.
Leonard Gildarie
I am referring, of course, to the two days of Diwali last week.
For all my four decades of life, Guyana has been celebrating Diwali for one day. I have no problem with this auspicious day being observed for two or three days or even a week, as it is done in India. But that is a decision that is up to the leaders of the Hindu community across Guyana.
I am not a Hindu, but my family practices the traditions.
I watched closely the debate between the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha and the other bodies which stuck to their arguments for the respective days of November 10th and November 11th.
It was clear that the matter spilled over to the political arena after the Government declaring November 10th as Diwali. I am not here to argue which night it should have been or who had the right to declare it.
I was driving home from work on the evening of Tuesday, November 10th. On the East Bank of Demerara, an area that is known for its celebrations, it was dead. I entered Eccles and the power went. Very few homes were lit with diyas.
It began to dawn on me that lots of persons appeared to have boycotted the November 10th date. Driving along Herstelling, Covent Garden and Diamond, it became obvious that this was indeed the case. As I drove through my street, I could not but help notice that just about five homes had diyas.
Reports from Berbice and Essequibo also indicated little participation.
There were significant crowds, however, at the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha motorcade in the city.
On Wednesday, it appeared the majority of Hindus had listened to the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha.
One other piece of news deeply disturbed me. On Friday evening, news broke of major, coordinated terror attacks in Paris, France, which left more than 150 dead – more than 100 who were attending a rock concert. That European nation declared a state of emergency as shock gripped the world.
We are a small nation in Guyana of just 700,000-plus persons. I remembered vividly the morning of January 27th, 2008, as news started to sink in about the massacre of 11 persons, some of them children at Lusignan, a quiet village on the East Coast of Demerara. Guyana was in shock and I stood in the newsroom of Kaieteur News and saw tough reporters broke down in tears.
The two days of Diwali is a problem that never should have been. Leaders from within the Hindu community as well as from both sides of the local political hemisphere should be roundly condemned for allowing it to reach that stage.
Worse yet, there was silence afterwards from commentators. I was told to stay away from the issue as it is a burning one.
I just could not go to bed knowing I kept my mouth shut. Where were the leaders?
Surely there could not be a winner in this stand-off. Surely, it could not be bragging rights for a few.
There will be some who will argue that talks at the table were in vain. I can’t buy that. Not for something like this.
There are lessons for us to learn from the Lusignan massacre and that deadly attack Friday in France. When we see how people band together in the hour of need, for the greater good, it is time to take stock.
A GOOD MOVE
Last week, Government announced the formation of a special welfare committee to deal with the homeless. A good move.
We have a serious problem in the city with the homeless. Many of these vulnerable persons are not mad. I have spoken to some of them. They were simple people who lost their homes because of one reason or the other, or whose families have thrown them out. They have stories to tell.
In New York and some other parts of the world, there are soup kitchens run by volunteers that give a hot meal to the homeless. Some of kitchens receive help under government-run programmes.
We were planning one on Brickdam, next door to the Palms. But it appears there are some delays.
By assessing the situation and taking steps to address is a start in beautifying the city and protecting some of our people who have fallen through the cracks.
I will be paying more attention to this worthwhile initiative as it develops.
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