New Year’s letter to my country

Dec 30, 2016 Letters

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Dear Editor,
This is a letter I have penned to my fellow Guyanese citizens. Kindly publish. The letter follows:
Dear Guyana, Happy New Year! I know that you are worried about what is inside the envelope. Please understand this is in no way, shape, or form an ambush. I am writing you because I love you and will always do. I am certain that the melancholy look on the faces of everyone around is making you believe that the envelope contains bad news.
Do not worry, you’re Guyana and there is always bad news. Yes, there has been some disasters and scandals recently, the controversial trip to China, the drug bond scheme, the D’Urban Park fiasco, and now the granting of scholarships to two Ministers and I know that you heard the unbelievable reports regarding the recent flooding, and how so far this year the Treasurer’s Department has expended in excess of $ 155M, but again that is not the reason why I have written to you.
I have written to you because I need to confront you regarding your recent behavior. I have been concerned about you for a while, but in the past year especially since May 2015, it is apparent that you have struck rock bottom. I want you to get better! Heavenly Father knows I need you to be better. Guyana this is your intervention.
I have never seen you this low. Granted you have always had an erratic spirit, but as you grew older especially since May 26, 2015, I watched you evolve from the forced labour camp, and alleged cultural subjugation of women to giving them power in their hands again through the Self Reliance and Success in Business Workshops. What happened to you, Guyana?
You were doing so well! You appear to have come to your senses, and were trying to improve the healthcare of your citizens like every other civilized country. Finally you had a leader, who had charm, could as everyone thought do the country no harm, and who could handle the kick-turn part of the Electric Slide. Things were looking so promising! The last time I saw you, you were trying to figure out if possible how to give people free education. You were on your way to becoming great.
The next thing I know, you were on the television, ranting about the increasing crime rate especially among youths, the vehicular homicides, and people not able to walk down the streets without being robbed. That’s when I knew you had relapsed. It broke my heart to see you revert to your ancient roots, stumbling around like a lost soul trying to encourage people to do the right thing. I really thought you were past that part of your life.
I don’t know why you relapsed. Maybe it is my fault.
Maybe I let you forget that we had to take this day by day. Maybe I saw Cathy Hughes, Moses Nagamootoo, and George Norton and figured that we were living in a post-racial Guyana. I sometimes forget that racism and sexism is embedded in your DNA, and they will never go away or be eradicated. I probably should have kept a better eye on you. Maybe I was too busy trying to get the latest communication technology, listening to the newest albums, or fighting against the newest grave injustices—Bai Shan Lin and the violation of their investment agreements, installation of parking meters etc.—to notice that you had started getting high again.
I should have recognized the signs. You started hanging with all the wrong people. I knew you had been talking to Dilma Rousseff, but I didn’t think you’d ever really become friends with her I figured you’d eventually recognize her lack of policy, and end your friendship. I never thought you’d let it get so far as to allow her to influence you. “Birds of a feather …,” but I never imagined, after all your progress, that you’d gravitate to a bird that finally had her wings clipped and removed from the nest. . Come on, Guyana, you know better than that! I don’t like to interfere in anyone’s relationship, but I knew she was bad news
Why couldn’t you hang with the people I introduced you to? I know there is some bad blood between you and Nicolas Maduro, but he was not the ideal person to befriend at this time, not with his economic policy, which has caused his oil rich economy to fall into recession. Fidel was a little old, and outside the box, but he wouldn’t have made you relapse.
His country trained most of your medical team anyway, so I figured he was good for you to kick it with. Too late now; he has already secured tertiary accommodation. I would even have been cool with Keith Rowley, but you said he was “too low energy.” When I ran into you in October when you delivered an address to the members of Parliament I could tell you were not yourself. As soon as you started ranting about recovering stolen state assets and pursuing a green agenda I knew that you were not yourself and somehow out of synch with reality.
What do I want from you Guyana? I want you to enroll in a 12-step programme. I want you to stop using racism and fear, and go back to being the same country, that produced world class cricketers, actors, musicians, playwrights, and innovators etc., the same country whose secondary school graduates following graduation could enter foreign universities.
Remember, I love you and always will. I just want to set you thinking straight again. I have arranged for you to go through a treatment program because you are clearly at rock bottom. It is a combination of detox, therapy and self-reflection. I will evaluate your progress in May 2020. Hopefully you can conquer your demons, but if we get to the 2020 election and I have to choose between a shyster and a fraudster then I know that treatment has not worked. Love always,
Yvonne Sam

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