Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 08, 2010 Letters
Dear Editor,
Our society is fast becoming like those we see in cowboy movies, or the Wild West, or even in those where the mafia control a state or town – sometimes an entire country. In those societies the cheapest thing is to kill a man or take a life.
It is so sad to talk this about this beautiful country, but one can’t help seeing what we are falling away to.
Crimes are not being solved and the criminals are becoming more and bolder – men are accepting less than $30,000 to take a life or carryout a hit. Life is now cheap in this country: if you want a man dead, you can just call a hit-man and have that person killed.
And would the killer reject such employment, absolutely not, since he knows he wouldn’t be caught, there is no deterrent.
Our morale as a nation and respect for human life are slowly deteriorating, and not for long if this pandemic continues we would lose all sense of feeling.
This country belongs to the people of its birth, and why are we allowing a handful of persons to think otherwise?
It’s our responsibility – the people, to set the path for our future generation, but since we are reluctant to stem this abuse of our country, would our children have a future?
As a citizen of this country it is hard for me to believe that there is no solution to this outrage.
We’ve given our leaders too much privilege, thus making them immutable and extremely powerful. Now we can’t even voice our disagreement over issues we don’t like… unless we wish to go to the land of no return.
Our society and our leaders are not showing us a way out of the slump we’re in.
So I ask myself and all Guyana: where are we going, and what would be left of it for our children when our leaders are through? It is clear they don’t have us or our children at heart.
Collis Lloyd
Guyana is not a racially polarised society
Dear Editor,
Guyanese recently observed the 176th anniversary since our African brothers and sisters became free from the yoke of slavery. A number of activities were held throughout the country to commemorate this historic milestone.
It is important that we use this occasion to reflect on the trials and tribulations suffered by our African fore parents as they struggled to regain their dignity and pride which was brutally denied them by the plantation owners.
The fact is that these Africans came to the shores of Guyana and as a matter of fact the Caribbean, against their will. They did not come as slaves but were enslaved in order to provide cheap labour to the sugar planters. This is why August 1, 1838 is of such great significance since it represents an end to one of the most barbaric and inhumane relationship between man and man – that of getting their fellow human being to do things against their will through brute force.
Our African ancestors like the indentured labourers who came after them, were forced to endure the indignities and sufferings which ran counter to all the norms of a civilized society. They were virtually stripped of their humanity and were denied every opportunity to realise their humanity.
Today, some 176 years later, the landscape has changed radically. We are masters of our own destiny. After over 150 years of British colonial rule we now have our own symbols of nationhood – our own system of government, our own Flag, our own National Anthem, or perhaps more importantly, our own sense of identity. Regardless of our ethnic or political makeup, we all identify with national goals.
This is why I get angry and upset when people, some out of narrow political objectives and some hiding under the fig leaf of academia seek to create the impression that we are divided as a nation and that the races of this country do not co-exist peacefully and in a state of harmony. I challenge any of these pseudo-intellectuals to provide one iota of evidence to establish that there is any form of racial or ethnic discrimination practiced by this current PPP/C administration since it assumed the mantle of leadership of this country.
People who preach the gospel of race and try, as it were, to drive a wedge between the two major race groups in this country do not have the good of this country at heart. They are like the woman in the biblical story who would rather divide the child into two in order to achieve her own selfish end, which is to have the baby destroyed rather than conceding that right of ownership to its rightful mother. It took the wisdom of King Solomon to save that child from imminent death and destruction.
Regrettably, there are no King Solomon’s around today who can drive sense if not wisdom into the heads of these destructive elements who would rather see this country destroyed by racial disunity rather than moving in the direction of racial and national reconciliation.
Fortunately for us in Guyana, the vast majority of Guyanese right across the political and ethnic spectrum do not support those mischievous and diabolic intentions of those elements alluded to earlier. Guyanese want a peaceful and harmonious society. We are a tolerant society and we want to see this country grow and develop into one in which there is opportunity for all Guyanese to realise his or her potential regardless of their ethnicity or political affiliation.
This is why I have always maintained the view and will continue to do so that Guyana is not a racially polarized society as is sometimes peddled by a misguided few. Yes, we do have our own sense of cultural identity but there is nothing inherently wrong with this. In fact, it is always a good thing to protect and preserve our individual sense of identity but this does not in any way indicative that we are racial.
An examination of the facts would reveal that since the assumption to office of the PPP/C, all of the ethnic groups benefitted in equal measure from the economic and social progress we have made over the years. This is reflected in the increasing number of persons from all racial groups who benefit from the massive housing drive of the government; from the increasing number of students who benefit from an enhanced quality of education delivery; from better health care delivery; from better roads and water supply to name but a few areas.
Let me repeat: I challenge anyone to provide evidence of racial discrimination in this country under the PPP/C administration. Those who continue to peddle this nonsense of race I say to them: provide the evidence or shut up.
Hydar Ally
The thieves are better cared for
Dear Editor,
A burglar was caught red handed with articles stolen from the Persauds’s home. The Persauds were inflicted with wounds about their bodies, by the thief in their own home.
The law in this country left much to be desired since the Persauds and others went voluntarily to the Vigilance Police Station.
According to a newspaper report, the victims were made to wait for several hours before they were handcuffed like criminals and taken for medical attention. This shows blatantly that citizens do not have any rights in this country – the bandits are better cared for. How can this be right? Do we have a justice system or not?
Our President is calling on people to come back home and help develop the country, but with situations like these no one will ever come back home. A hopeless police force, no justice system – these all make up a hopeless future for Guyana.
I only returned from North America recently. Most of the Guyanese population would like to return, but the crime situation is backing them off from returning.
If any of the Persauds was killed by the bandit it would have been another unsolved murder. These people were only defending their lives in their own home. How can this be right?
Ronald Mootoo
Place speed bumps at these junctions
Dear Editor,
Sometime during 2005 the Government of Guyana secured a loan to rehabilitate Broad Street which runs from St. Stephens Street westwards to Lombard Street.
Since the rehabilitation works were completed drivers of all categories of motor vehicles had begun to use the road as a speed circuit, this includes minibuses which plies the route East and West Ruimveldt. Russell, Lyng and Charles Streets have been the targets of serious accidents. Lyng and Charles Streets are major roads and utilized by students of Dolphin and other adjoining Communities.
Over the past two years their have been an increase in serious accidents at the above mentioned junctions, some of was as a result of ignorance, inexperience and immature drivers or drivers under the influence of alcohol and other deficiencies.
As recent as two weeks ago and they were two serious accidents at Broad and Lyng Streets where vehicles were badly damaged and even the south eastern fence and north eastern culvert were damaged, as a result.
It has now brought fear to stand or cross these corners, during the day as well as at nights. Previously a member of the neighbourhood had re-painted the stop signed in luminous paint which had indicated that it was a major road from Sussex Street, so I am not sure why would drivers jump Broad Street. In the interim we are therefore recommending that speed bumps be placed at Lyng and Charles streets, both ways and Broad and Russell junction. This will at least bring some relief to road users and remove some of the danger to pedestrians.
The Police Traffic Department may have recorded those accidents that occurred over the last two years
T. Pilgrim
What is normal behaviour?
Dear Editor,
The difference between normal and abnormal behaviour is usually a matter of degree, not form. Very few behaviours are themselves inherently good or bad, normal or abnormal. They become abnormal if they occur too frequently or infrequently, if they last long, if they occur in the wrong place or if they are too intense or excessive for the situation.
There is nothing wrong with smiling for example, but if you smile when you see a car accident people are going to worry about you. If you laugh hysterically for half an hour at a silly joke, and you do this too often, people will have you locked up or avoid you at all cost.
Virtually any action such as singing, fear, or fighting, can be appropriate or inappropriate, normal or abnormal, depending on the context in which it occurs, its intensity and its frequency. Behaviours will also become abnormal if they interfere with routine daily activities. We all get depressed at times, we all have fears, and we act differently to different people.
In general, if any behaviour has the effect of interfering substantially with normal, effective social or work activities, is categorized as a phobia, fetish, a depressive disorder, the result of a split personality or of a marital problem. If, for example, a fear of germs causes one to be cleaning all the time, and it interferes with other responsibilities, one is acting abnormally. If, also, a person’s mood or personality changes radically at random and unpredictable times, that person is said to be acting abnormally.
Dr. Arnold Rincover, a Toronto psychologist, has said that if abnormal behaviour is viewed as actions out of context, excessive, interfering or unduly stressful, much of the mystery surrounding the subject disappears.
This definition implies that it is behaviour patterns that are abnormal not people. It also implies that behaviours can be changed; therefore abnormal behaviour is not necessarily permanent.
Anyone considering consulting a therapist because of perceived abnormal behaviour should know that people go to a therapist to obtain help with the problem, not to find out if there is a problem, and that any stigma about needing a therapist should be removed since it is normal to have abnormal behaviour. At some point in our life, each one of us is sure to feel extremely distressed.
George L. Munroe
Does Guyana have a future in tourism?
Dear Editor,
As I look around Montego Bay, I see the backbone of the island all around; the peak of persons enjoying their vacation is at its highest in this the tourism capital of Jamaica. Back at home comes to mind and I try to juxtapose Guyana’s tourism potentials and capabilities to its Caribbean counterpart here.
We hear the constant efforts and finance being pushed into the tourism industry. But what really is tourism? In the Caribbean, all the islands – Guyana included – can all share one definition of tourism.
We are a geographical area of nations that share so much in common. The industry is meeting its cause in other areas in the Caribbean without a doubt.
In Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada, Barbados and most definitely here in Montego Bay, where there are the blue waters and white sandy beaches; where there are towering multi-storied hotels with picturesque backdrops set against the lush and pristine one-of-a-kind Caribbean Sea.
Yes, our very own sea line is dotted with the chain of Caribbean Islands; this is ever visible flying 38,000 feet in a commercial airliner. The scene is absolutely breathtaking.
The islands look just the same from your local Caribbean World Atlas.
But the water in the sea is probably the most breathtaking phenomenon of them all. The clear water with the waves crashing onto the shorelines is absolutely amazing.
Five Star hotels are around every corner here. Gran Bahia Principe, Grand Palladium Resorts and Spas, Rose Hall Resorts and Spas, and the Hilton are just a few that bring that added feeling of comfort and a true sense of relaxation to tourists. Persons from all corners of the world flock here; from as far as Australia, Belgium, and oh, the North American tourists are here in abundance.
Here, the tourist is respected, valued and a jewel in the eyes of the locals. Tourism is truly alive here, more than I’ve seen in other places, including our Guyana.
Safari, water parks, rainforest mountain tours, horseback riding, among many others are just a few of the options international and regional tourists have while here. And no need to travel to the ‘interior’ locations to enjoy rainforests and waterfalls.
The much talked about Dunns River falls is just about 30 minutes from the city centre here in Montego Bay. The landscape is so arranged so that access to these areas is just short distances away from hotels and villas. Rafting down the Great Rivers up a mountain is just exciting.
And the hotels here are up to international standards. I am amazed, really. The Caribbean region is certainly moving up the tourism ladder. Jamaica has truly earned the name of being one of the best tourism destinations in the world, and most certainly the best in the Caribbean – any day!
With its history in slavery, like Guyana, the language the locals use is patois, which was spoken to ‘confuse’ the masters so that they would not understand what the slaves were saying. Great Houses still dot the high hills across the islands.
Most were torn down by the Jamaicans out of hatred and revenge for the slave trade and slavery days. More people from Jamaica migrate to the U.S. legally per capita than any other country in the world.
With just over two million people, and just over 10,000 square kilometres, it makes the island one of the most densely populated nations in the world.
When you see this kind of development and quality of tourism, it makes our efforts in Guyana look like none at all. How does one like that a five-star hotel is going to be built in a stinking garbage city? How well does this auger for tourism? When places in a tourism city are air conditioned, they really mean air conditioned. Does Guyana have a future in tourism? What is the quality of tourism in Guyana? Are we ready for tourism? I think not.
Leon Jameson Suseran
Not a blade of grass means nothing to some
Dear Editor,
Forging the identity of a nation birthed immediately after its independence is never easy. That Burnham tried and failed on his way to becoming a dictator is a significant part of Guyana’s history. Conversely, admitting that the Jagans defended communism and introduced “Apaan Jaat” into the Guyanese lexicon where it remains today as a tool used by the PPP to bludgeon their supporters with fear into putting party above Guyana is also a significant part of Guyana’s history.
There was a time when people of a certain generation believed that all of Guyana, from the Rupununi to the Correntyne, from the Greenheart Forest to the Atlantic waters belonged to Guyanese. There was a time when “not a blade of grass, not one Blue Saki” evoked an emotion that reflected Guyanese patrimony.
On May 17, 2010 in a letter published in Kaieteur News (Tyranny of the Majority) I stated that that would be my last letter because I believed then, much as I do now, Guyanese for the most part are unhappy with the PPP Government because of endemic corruption, unbridled discrimination and marginalisation, state sanctioned torture, lack of accountability and transparency, nepotism and favoritism to name a few of the ills; but are unwilling to demand and bring about the change they desire. That is for someone else to do. Black Americans fought and died for their civil rights; rights now enjoyed by many who have denied others in Guyana their rights but are fleeing at the first opportunity. Apartheid didn’t end in South Africa because the racist government had a moment of epiphany. People were jailed and many died in the struggle to end apartheid.
While I had no intention of going back on my word, I was moved by a letter published in Kaieteur News on June 16, 2010 “Go back to when people shouted enough is enough -Quincy Savoy” said I moved him to pen his letter because the PPP Government is the only government he has known throughout his 18 years on earth but knows in his heart that his future is doomed because of the policies of the Jagdeo/PPP administration. The PPP mindset and way of doing business permeates every facet of Guyanese society including sports. “Chairman for life” of the Guyana Cricket Board named a centre after himself. He’s an administrator for crying out loud; it wasn’t named after the greatest West Indian captain Clive Lloyd, or other Guyanese cricketing stalwarts such as Khanai, or Kallicharan or Gibbs or Croft; instead it’s called the Chetram Singh centre for excellence!
Now let me return to my opening paragraph. Recently President Jagdeo returned from Venezuela heralding the deals that he signed with President Chavez. Of great concern is a trans-Guyana pipeline that Chavez wants to build that will see Venezuela supply all of Guyana and Suriname’s oil needs. This is the same Venezuela that claims the mineral rich Essequibo region of Guyana; has not apologized or compensated the families for blowing up dredges and causing the death of Guyanese by their illegal incursions into Guyana. Why would Guyana under the Jagdeo (mal)administration entertain such entreaties from a nation that makes a specious claim to 3/5th of it’s territory even though oil exploration is about to start in the very near future off the Berbice coast?
President Jagdeo’s foreign policy that seemed to rest on mendicancy and racking up airline miles and hotel reward points, ergo his desire to build a Marriott hotel, is built on the foundation as the Jagans; ideology above country. Bad mouthing your country’s hotel worthiness while in another country was myopic considering it was his administration that lent the money to build one of those same hotels that now appear substandard, but until recently was one of the best in all of Guyana. What if someone from the opposition had done the same thing in another county? The Jaddeo/PPP administration would call them unpatriotic.
Cozying up to Chavez and Ahmedinejad, refusing assistance from Britain for police reform and using “cuss out” diplomacy to express policy differences with America will continue to erode the memory of national pride or Guyanese identity. The Brazilians have their share in Lethem, the mining industry and areas of Bartica and Georgetown; the Russians have a free hand to impugn Guyanese labour laws and mistreat predominantly afro-Guyanese in the mining communities while this president is allowed to do everything in secrecy.
Where are the elected opposition politicians to come to the rescue of this nation before it is too late? Where are the PPP supporters with a sense of national pride? It is time all Guyanese wake up to the reality that the PPP has been intellectually dishonest with the nation. The PPP must be stopped from supplanting the meaning of nationhood where country, equality and fair play must always come first.
Nigel Jason
How is this progress and development?
Dear Editor,
Guyanese are too naïve to realise they are being conned into voting for a government with materialistic scraps.
The only way Government will keep pulling these gimmicks is because they work. They work because Guyanese are simple-minded people when it comes to these matters.
They know no different. A brand new shiny laptop is progress and development. It does not matter they cannot afford the internet rates or that there are no laptops in schools for their children or for the teachers to acquire knowledge.
The Government knows this. If there is anything the PPP has learnt is the value of masquerading big nice fancy shiny things. Or give people things that were theirs to begin with. Take land for example. It’s virtually free to the Government and belongs to the people. The Government grades the land, cuts a few shoddy unpaved roads prone to flooding, forgets to build parks, pools and other basic amenities and sell that land to people asking them to build mansions.
These are the same people earning next to nothing and paying taxes through their noses and handing over a significant portion of their income every day to the Government legitimately by taxation and illegally by corruption payments (bribes, etc).
These people now have to take heavy loans at ridiculous rates in a nation that could be ruined anytime sending interest rates to the roof. But they own their homes. They get to build their mansions in the sky just like those officials living in Pradoville or whatever it is called.
How is this progress and development? Particularly when your water and electricity bills for your massive new mansion, to your heavy mortgage, VAT and in addition to the ‘small pieces’ you pay on a daily basis for basic service puts you in a hole everyday.
Go ahead and take that new laptop but you have to find a lot of money for internet every month in addition to the expenses I mentioned. Guyanese people have never been so stuck in debt in their lives and they won’t get out. If it wasn’t for remittances this nation would have been the scene of a major economic crisis.
But the Guyanese people can’t entirely be blamed. After suffering through generational deprivation they want big fancy new shiny things.
They see massive new cars and trucks and homes as progress. It does not matter that they have to struggle even more on incomes that have hardly increased while their ravenous appetites fed by their government for shiny things have gone through the roof.
The problem with deprivation is that it causes blindness. People cannot see at all or they can only see one thing at a time. Give them a piece of land to build a sprawling home and they see progress. It does not matter that the roads are a danger to humanity or there is no running water or no parks or hospitals or schools. They will only see one thing and one thing only.
That is the difference between developed nations and poor nations. Citizens in developed nations want complete development.
If you build a new shiny housing scheme in the developed world and you fail to put in a playground or proper roads, there will be a massive public outcry. Simple-mindedness among the majority of Guyanese coupled with perpetually low expectations caused by never knowing differently is one of the reasons.
Finally, I judge progress not by what I have materially received or obtained but by the ultimate cost and benefit of it. If I get a laptop for free but I have to pay internet rates at a level that eats up 10% of my monthly disposable income I may want it but I really cannot afford it. It means I will probably have to eat less or live in darkness.
For some Guyanese it is a choice they will make to have a laptop. Similarly, there is no benefit if a Guyanese who earns 4% per annum of the average Guyanese-American income has to pay more for electricity every month than their brother or sister living in the USA.
If a Guyanese in Guyana earning 4% of the yearly income of a typical Guyanese-American is paying more for basic amenities such as water and electricity and for items such as fuel how could this nation really progress?
Michael Maxwell
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