Safe places are not always that safe

Dec 10, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – A few days ago, award winning actress Emma Thompson, appeared on the Kelly and Ryan television show. The topic lurched towards being in New York and Kelly said that one of the good things about living in New York is that there are so many social events you can attend free of cost.

A rich cultural life has always been a feature of New York City and this is one of the things which makes living in New York special. Even if you are not rich, there are sights, museums, parks and boardwalks as well as other free attractions spread across the boroughs.

It is very important for any government or city or even village to be able to provide free healthy entertainment and recreation for all. This is why the decision of the government to create a Christmas Village is such a wonderful initiative.

It is a place for people to come out in the evenings and to enjoy outdoor life. Nevertheless, as with everything else with our governments some mistakes were made.

Allowing too much vendors takes can actually force poor families to stay away rather than come out and enjoy the Christmas Village. Think about that poor mother with three small children who decides to bring her family out to the Christmas Village, one of the few free attractions in Georgetown.

There are persons offering items for sale which would entice the poor mother’s children. They will see other children buying stuff and will look longingly at their mother, wanting to also be able to have some of what they see the other children having. And the poor mother cannot afford the prices because she has three children and while there is no entrance fee for the village, it costs a fair bit to buy drinks and candy for three children at the Village.

Years ago, when the malls opened their cinemas, the entrance price for children was about $700. And of course the concessions at the mall cinemas located outside of the entrance to the actual theater and it would cost a mother of three a fortune to buy the basic popcorn and drink. A mother with three children could end up spending as much as $10,000 to see one movie at the mall.

On the other hand, there was the Astor Cinema, the last remaining old-time movie house in Guyana. The entrance fee was $300 which meant that this was less than half of the price of the cinemas located at the mall and you got to see two movies never mind the fact that there were reruns. Many ordinary mothers took their children to the Astor because it was affordable.

It is therefore a good idea to have these attractions such as Christmas Village. However, poor parents sometimes are discouraged from going out because there are so many things on sale but the prices may not always be within reach.

More than a year ago, the President launched a project that would provide a safe space along the embankment where families could go in the evenings for recreation. This project was launched around the same time that Guyana was hosting an Energy Conference at the Marriot Hotel and there was some suspicion about the timing of the project.

The old train station building at High Street was supposed to be converted into a café and art gallery. It was even promised that the walkway which would initially stretch from High Street to Camp Street would be extended all the way to Vlissengen Road.

The green lawns of the embankment were dug up and turned into an asphalted surface. Today, instead of a place of relaxation, it has become a massive parking lot for motor vehicles. Clearing the project was well-intentioned. But it was poorly conceptualized because why would anyone want to take their children to that place where cars are driving in an out, forcing persons to inhale toxic fumes.

And while the government was removing the greenery to create this asphalted tarmac, intersected by a narrow clay brick walkway, the Georgetown City Council was handing out spots on one of the few remaining green strips in the city: the Merriman’s Mall.

Ugly concrete structures are now defacing that part of the city. The talk is now about creating more Christmas Villages. Not a bad idea but what about limiting the vending!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)