Blessings from a sincere Minister

Jun 17, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

One could not help but be impressed by the sincerity of expression by the Honourable Minister of Natural Resources in his address to the Guyana Marine Conservation Society. His was this conviction that “Guyana is blessed…we are all blessed”.
Some listeners would however observe that he totally overlooked his colleagues’ hesitancy in urging the Private Sector to agreeing a minimum wage of the ridiculous sum of $60,000 per month, while their respective members boast of how profitable are their operations, while ignoring the increasing cost of daily survival.
They certainly lead their Caricom counterparts in this undesirable compensation competition.
But the Honourable Minister could not have taken into account the stilted amounts doled out monthly to (disabled) pensioners, too many of whom are bereft of any family or other support.
On the other hand, there are the more vigorous and insightful observers who point to the concentration of investment in the development in Regions Three and Six – the latest being $2Bn in road works – by 57 selected contractors. Apart from wondering where and how the latter existed before, the observant would miss any reference to prospects of comparable development in Regions Four and Ten, blessed as these communities are supposed to be.
Notably also the citizens of Region Four have not been ‘blessed’ with any ‘grants’ – a gesture indicative of a (blessed) selective ‘unity’ of our peoples!
Incidentally, the French word ‘blesser’ means ‘to wound’. If that interpretation is however correct then the (former) security guard, who is reduced to making a personal complaint about being assaulted by the ‘secured’ resident, should be considered as truly ‘blessée’. When was her employment terminated, by whom, and how? What compensation was offered to this spiritually ‘blessée’ human being?
Do we have a choice – between being ‘blessed’ and ‘blessé’?
Of the ten interpretations seen in edition of the Oxford Dictionary the word ‘blessed’ is said to mean ‘not have a penny to bless oneself with’, ‘to be desperately poor’.

Elijah Bijay

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