Christmas – reality and possibility

Dec 25, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths…

By GHK Lall

Kaieteur News- It is the middle of the week, Wednesday, and Christmas is that grace etching the dawn.  It is in the middle of the ocean and Guyana sits plumb on top of its rich waters -oil.  The good and now for the bad.  It is the middle of disputes and arguments, tensions and acrimonies, with the stage set: the relentless pursuit of power, the troubles that litter every step of the way.  There must be some spark, some glimmer of instinct, that makes me and maybe others (you) want to give of what is deep in us to point this country and its people towards a road of healing.  It has been a long time that that thought, that word, has wended its way to the center of consciousness.  Healing.  What would I give for a little healing in this country, and then some more of it, until that is all every Guyanese can think of, want to do something about?  May the peace and joy of this day be with all Guyanese, and all our foreign brothers and sisters who come here for shelter from life’s storms that batter them, the gems that attract them.  In the hope of finding success.  Whatever the objective that powers a gleam in the eye, a hope in the soul, welcome and the best of this Christmas Day and holiday season.

I start at the top and follow the road.  To President Ali and family, blessings.  Let there be a vision of what helps the people of this society to mend a cell at a time, and for the beauty and inspiration of healing to be theirs.  A vision that is genuine and serene, with the rage and rancor dismantled and carted away.  To Vice President Jagdeo and family, greetings.  I say let’s put our hearts into what is better for Guyanese, inspires them to extend the favor to neighbor.  I take the first step, utter the first word.  There are some things in this world, this life, that must (must) rank higher than what is good for me, and only me.  To Opposition Leader Norton and family, felicitations.  May there be that coordination and movement of hand and mind that all are inspired to break away from the fences that keep us apart, that fill with so much bitterness.  To Opposition Builder Hughes and family, peace.  The cry of the Guyanese people breaks my heart; their tears can be dried, but they should never be crying on a day like this.  Or any other in this age of grace.  Before these four Guyanese brothers of mine, I stand and say don’t see me as an enemy, not even a challenge.  All that is envisioned is a better Guyana for all.  We have what can make that possible.

All citizens of this republic that can rise to glorious status have a right to great expectations.  What they have is a grand gift.  It is what makes many things possible, including the kind of life that was unknown to their forefathers of yore.  Every Guyanese deserves, his due, must rise.  If I must be their voice and scribe, then that call must be answered, regardless of the price to be paid.  Here I am.  A Christmas promise is made.

Some say that things are so far gone that there can be no turning around.  Though there are flashes of that every once in a while, I banish and perish the thought.  There is too much quarreling, so much wrangling.  Energies dissipated.  Intellect squandered.  Hope hemorrhaged.  Treasure diminishing. There is something wrong with where Guyanese are.  There must be a better path, a stronger will.  There must be nothing so sacred that it cannot be given up, without regret.  It is incredibly difficult to speak in this manner on a Day of Goodwill.  Perhaps, it is why I am driven to do so.  A man has got to believe in something, stand for something.

When I look at a man, I must not see a competitor nor troublemaker nor danger.  There is a brother and a partner, with the same said for a sister, regardless of political address, the color distinctive, their place on the ladder.  Would be lovely if Guyanese could somehow get to this place, this state of mind.  These are not sentiments of the season.  I call them that mystery known as grace.  They are the strengths that stir deep inside the soul.  It is why the Yuletide Season always brings yearning: what is grasped in the hand with joy for a day, why not a year?  We could use a tranquil year.  Looming overhead and around the corner is 2025.  Ooh, what will be remembered and then to where?  What cannot be let go, be forgotten, and with what result?  Will there be mangling of one another like never before?  My wish is that those passions die quietly in their sleep.  And with those the ancient grudges that foster such unending resentments and animosities.

I leave the somber behind, aim for a high note.  The world can be ours.  We must have it.  To do so, there must be reaching for it, a willingness to sacrifice for it.  Christmas made possible a supreme sacrifice.  We are glad for it.  Now we must show how.  In whatever manner, however it is, let’s all make the best of it, be better for it.  The powers of heaven have been generous to Guyana.  Now we must prove ourselves worthy of that generosity from providence.

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

(Christmas – reality and possibility)

 

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• Christmas, Day of Goodwill, Guyanese brothers, hard truths, Vice President Jagdeo

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