It will take a miracle to change the “mind set” of some Guyanese

Sep 15, 2022 Letters

---

Dear Editor,

Peeping Tom’s column on September 12, 2022, that Guyana is doomed because of a lack of discipline, has prompted me to write this letter. Freddie Kissoon has also written many columns on the state of Guyana’s political, economical and cultural development. He has written extensively on the functioning of the courts, traffic police and traffic problems, poor services at banks and other institutions and the red tape many Guyanese experience in their day to day life. Recently, in two columns, August 18 and 23, 2022, Kissoon outlined actual problems with DIH parking and the daily incompetence Guyanese face. Frontline workers at the airport and other government offices do not know how to speak to clients, politely. Editor, I want to add to Peeping Tom and Kissoon’s observations: hopefully, the President will take note.

Editor, I am living abroad, as I had left Guyana a very long time ago. Over the many years, I have returned to Guyana on numerous occasions, as I love the province of my birth: Albion, Berbice. However, I must say, given my experience, as Peeping Tom’s observation, visiting Guyana made me conclude that Guyana, in decades, will not reach the present day development of, say, Canada or Western Europe. Why do I say this? Guyana has a parochial culture that does not lend itself to a professional work ethic. There is a lack of standards and an attitude that do not respect the laws. And worst, enforcement of the laws: It will take a miracle to change the “mind set” of Guyanese.

Editor here are a few examples based on my experience:

1. A few years ago, during the Christmas holidays, I was coming through Guyana’s airport, with my two young children. The officer, asking me questions about the contents of my baggage, said that I should be a Santa Claus. I laughed it off thinking that he had a good sense of humour. But my children told me that the officer made the reference because he wanted a bribe or gift. I did not understand the reference at the time. So my suitcase was thoroughly searched, but nothing undeclared was found.
2. Travelling with my relatives to the airport, in a number 63 minibus, from Berbice, we were stopped and ordered to enter, I think, the Ruimveldt Police Station compound. A police officer accused the driver of violating a traffic sign, which is bogus. The officer wanted a payoff to let us go. Fortunately, my brother who was a corporal at the Albion sugar estate showed the police officer his ID so we were released. Otherwise, we would have been held, with the possibility of missing our flight, or forced, as an alternative, to pay a bribe. You see, the police targeted the minibus with the number 63, knowing that it’s coming from Berbice and going to the airport.
3. Two years ago, a relative in Guyana passed away, from alcoholism. Before he died, I tried to find a rehab centre that treated alcoholism. No luck. I saw that President Ali has announced some time ago, the establishment of disability centres. Great and a welcome idea. But the President needs to do the same for the treatment of alcoholics, a national plague in Guyana. Moreover, when I was growing up, in Guyana, the few persons in the village who were physically impaired in speaking and hearing, were ridiculed, picked upon, mocked and harassed. Special schools should be set up to teach those with special needs. The physically impaired should be able to learn the sign language for the deaf. I know for a fact that those with special needs are taken care of, from cradle to grave, in Canada and the United States. Why not in Guyana, with the new oil wealth?
4. With regard to my relative’s cremation at Babu Jaan, I thought that the site and facilities are modern and clean because Cheddi Jagan was cremated there. I was shocked and embarrassed to see the garbage and empty plastic bottles that littered the area. In fact, a few volunteer and I picked up the plastic bottles, with the help of the crematorium crew. But worst, Cheddi Jagan memorial site, beside the cremation mound, was occupied with cows, goats and sheep that defecated on the memorial. The gate to the memorial was left unlocked. So much for respect for Dr. Jagan! Peeping Tom’s statement that “development is doomed in Guyana” hits the proverbial nail. on the head.

Editor, adjacent to the crematorium, is a garbage dump. Yes! So the grieving relatives witnessing the cremation have to contend with the stench and the unseemly sight of the garbage. To have a garbage dump adjacent to the Cheddi Jagan memorial and crematorium site shows a severe lack of respect and judgment. This is what I refer to as parochial thinking and Peeping Tom’s “lack of discipline”.

5. Basic maintenance of the crematorium site and the Cheddi Jagan memorial would have been adequate. But Region 6 councillors do not seem to care. They lack political sophistication, a reference point to the Peeping Tom column.
6. Many years ago, I wrote to GAWU, in regard to a problem my relative had, working at the Albion sugar estate. He was dismissed, but was entitled to compensation. I wrote requesting a meeting with GAWU officials, to deal with the problem. Needless to say, my letter was never acknowledged. This is what I refer to as a lack of professionalism. As a minimum, I should have received a reply.

Editor, I can write about many more examples of developmental problems and frontline services in Guyana. But I will end here, for the time being. I would like to state that I love Guyana and always will. After COVID subsides, I will return for an extended stay.

 Ganesh Harilal

---

---