Things stagnate then they fall apart

Jul 23, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

My late friend Dale Andrews from the Kaieteur News said to me about a month before he passed away, “Maan, Freddaay, write something positive bout Guyana huh!” I replied, “Show me where the negative things I write about are not factual.” As a columnist, I have no interest in praising the Government because it cleaned up Georgetown. That was what was obligatory of it after the PPP dictatorship fell. Why should a government get praise from commentators for cleaning the capital city?
I once saw a ‘60 Minutes’ programme (which you can Google) that describes how the French authorities wash and clean downtown France every night after midnight, not once a week but each night. Citizens do not offer panegyrics to their rulers for doing things that civilized society ought to do. What commentators are interested in are exposing the backwardness of countries whose citizens deserve modern customs, modern laws, modern practices and civilized service. When these necessities and requirements are absent, the press and the citizenry need to write.
Why should I not write about the pervasive backwardness of this country? I am a father; I am an uncle. The young ones in my family deserve 21st century life. Those diaspora patriots that exhale about what they see when they come here do not endure what we have to put up with here. They come, dine, socialize and then they leave. And as soon as they deplane in their adopted lands, they jump into a waiting car and stop at the red light that is working so they are spared the heartburn we, Guyanese drivers suffer at busy junctions where the lights do not function.
Those diaspora champions who come here and wax lyrical about how nice Guyana is getting should live on the street where I dwell. To get to my home, I have to cross over the Railway Embankment where the traffic signals do not function properly. Last Sunday the traffic was so heavy, that it was the nearest to date, I came to getting hit. Honestly! I was scared to cross over. No one was stopping.
These diaspora enthusiasts that come home and champion the greatness of their homeland, go back to where they live and call 911 when they see a burglar at their gate. In Guyana, by the time 911 is answered, the burglar enters your home, murders you, packs his loot into the suitcase he brought with him, then sits down and feasts on the food stuff you have in your fridge, uses your washroom, then nonchalantly walks away with his stolen items.
This column was motivated by a letter in the Kaieteur News yesterday written by Rev. Cecil Gideon. When I read this letter, titled, “Unpleasant treatment at two city banks,” thoughts of plagiarism flew into my mind. The pastor wrote; “I then walked over to Republic Bank to be greeted with a longer line of about sixty people. It was around 1:30 in the afternoon. I joined the line that was not moving. It was very hot and no one cared if the line was like a stagnant trench full of bushes.
“I counted eighteen booths but only six staff were working; it seems the others were on a long lunch but the supervisors do not care to fill those empty booths with many other staff I see just walking around and gaffing. The six staff were working for the twelve that were gone to a very long lunch. All of this incompetence I see at all these major banks in Guyana is caused by very poor administration. The CEO and Managers have no respect for our Guyanese citizens who have to stand for hours in these lines.”
I described a very similar situation in a letter to the Stabroek News in 1988. I thought the pastor had lifted my letter. He couldn’t have done that (just joking about the plagiarism) but his missive portrays an identical situation I encountered at the same bank 28 years ago. When I read this description, crazy thoughts ran through my mind. This man is writing about an ordeal that I endured and wrote about 28 years ago.
My friend, Dale, is not alive to read this and I wondered what he would have said. I wonder what those diaspora fanatics have to say about the 28-year-old stagnation of services to the Guyanese people. How interesting that the pastor’s letter appeared in the same edition of Kaieteur News (yesterday) where my column looked at the reasons why the young leave Guyana. I wonder if Rev. Gideon talks to God about saving Guyana. I know I do.

1 thoughts on “Things stagnate then they fall apart”

Muhammad Raoof July 23, 2016 at 11:35 pm

That was the “good old days” in GT. No stench, the scenery was so easy on the eyes. I’m always amazes how the street vendors in the heart of London operates. They come out early in the mornings, set up their stands. Stands just like the ones we had around Big Market. The portable set-up. At evening time, everything is packed up and removed. At the end of the day, one could never tell that a bustling market was there. This occurs when the Government is functioning as a Government should, when the head (Government) if functioning, the body (citizens) are willing to function and follow-along in a manner that benefits all. A clean surroundings is the results. Our government needs to start functioning as such. Then and only then Guyana will return to the glory days