That issue of dual citizenship

Mar 31, 2019 Editorial

It is time for a decision. It cannot be the beginning of one, or part of one, but a final one. It must be written in the immovable stone of hard principle.
It starts with individuals on this matter of dual citizenship. Forget about what this or that party calculates and desires for numerical presence and advantage; and what have been the histories of recognizing and rewarding stalwarts.
This about country: what kind of society and patriots is wished for? It cannot be cheap, shabby ones, cannot be of the part-time, here today, gone tomorrow variety; of the flowers and fruits of favour and then flight.
Those considering, debating, and making laws for the peoples of Guyana, must be of the soil and embedded in the soil. The full disclosure of this is who I am and where I stand. Guyana is stood for; Guyanese are whom I identify with. Take a holiday to wherever; take many of them but feet and heart and mind must be anchored here. Soul too.
Let the hedging and vacillating and finger pointing and game playing all be done with, nonsense all. Discontinue consultations with advisers and comrades. Continue with serving fully with appreciation and gratitude for the call of country to lend a hand, to give an ear, to deliver a presence. Continue doing that or continue to a plane for that which means more, is loved more, prioritized more.
There can be no partisanship on this, no failure for meeting of the minds. If there is such failure, then the overwhelming likelihood is that there is precious little on which minds here can harmonize.
The hard, unalterable creed of politicians all over, and distinctly so in Guyana, is this: who is not for me is against me. Going beyond politicians and cheap slogans, the land is saying this at this time about dual citizenship: who is not with me is not about me.
The emotions, sentiments, and expressions flare and coalesce. Those who have assumed the mantle of leadership must step forward, raise hand, and swear unending devotion to this nation. In the deep heart, unending means undivided; undivided to focus exclusively on the tempests and traumas of this tortured territory, to identify with the plights and pains of the peoples; to commit energy and intellect to making this Guyana a truly Magnificent Province.
This cannot happen with recruited mercenaries or visiting expatriates. In terms of the former, this is neither job nor project, and when it is over, then it is out. As to the latter, it cannot be the long overnight stand of men (and women) seeking the sweetness of lush embrace. This is a marriage; it is one that comes with all the teeth and tongue, ups and downs, and pluses and minuses of a monogamous relationship.
For the stated commitment of true servanthood to be more than the easy, comforting platitude that it has become, this has to be till death do us part.
Guyanese privileged (and it is) to carry dual citizenship must be of a singular mindset: bury my heart by the Demerara; scatter my ashes in the mighty Essequibo; and let me, when the time has come, find rest in Berbice; or in the shades of Roraima or Pakaraima.
Surely, this cannot be asking too much of those who say that they love this country. And just as surely, no one from any party should have any speck of difficulty in making a decision that proves all of this and more.

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