Smiling fuh de camera

Feb 03, 2026 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists

(Kaieteur News) – Dem boys see a video floating round pon social media where a gang of young fellas trying to relieve a man of he cellular phone, and one of dem brandishing a knife so long it look like it had ambitions to be a cutlass when it grow up. Is not even a discreet knife. Is a bold, shameless knife, waving like it running for public office.

Watching that clip bring back memories, and memories in Guyana does come back hard and uninvited, like mosquito at dusk. Dem boys remember when dem used to do security wuk. Night shift. Graveyard hours. Office lock up tight, but dem boys still had to walk home in the dark, when every shadow look like it reconsidering its life choices.

So dem boys develop a survival strategy. A cutlass. Respectable. Agricultural. Wrapped neatly in newspaper, like it was a gift fuh somebody who really deserved it. True, the shape was visible — yuh can’t hide destiny — but that was the point. Anybody with criminal thoughts would see the outline and decide, “Nah, today nah de day.”

It worked fine. No mugging. No heroics. Just peaceful walking and dem boys minding dem business.

Until one night, blue lights flash. Police stop dem boys.

“Why yuh walking with a weapon?” de officer ask.

Dem boys explain politely. Tell dem how the cutlass did go to the office fuh sharpening, but boss man ain’t want nobody use he file, like the file was family heirloom. So dem boys had to carry it back home.

Police nod. Police listen. Police tek away the cutlass.

Just so. Like that.

Now fast-forward to today. Video after video of people walking round with knives, daggers, swords that look imported specially fuh crime. Nobody stopping dem. Nobody questioning. Nobody asking what office file refuse to help dem. So dem boys wondering: how come when a law-abiding citizen walk with a penknife or a cutlass fuh protection, it get confiscated but when bandits walk round armed like movie extras, everybody suddenly practicing social distancing?

Dem boys seh maybe the newspaper wrapping was the real crime. Maybe dem should’ve livestream the walk home. Or maybe, just maybe, common sense does get arrested first and released last. Anyway, dem boys seh one thing for sure: in this country, is not the weapon that does scare people — is who holding it, and whether dem smiling for the camera.

Talk half. Leff half.

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Dem Boys Seh, police, Smiling, social media

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