“COME SEPTEMBER”: CELEBRATION, SYMBOLISM & FANTACY: WHAT’S NEXT?

The title, “Come September” will remind older Guyanese of the Hollywood movie, a romantic fantasy, starring Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida and Sandra Dee. September in Guyana, however, has become a month pregnant with celebration, symbolism and significance: Amerindian Heritage Month; Education Month; International Day of Peace; and, Child Protection Week.
In the midst of all the celebratory and commemorative activities this year, the Continuous Registration Process, to update the National Register of Registrants, NRR, from which the voters List for 2011 would be extracted, also commenced on Monday September 6. Now that the month is almost at an end, the real question is, after September what?
Will there be additional benefits and improvement in the quality of life of our indigenous citizens? Will Guyana’s children benefit from a better quality of Education? Will there be peace in Guyana? And more particularly, will Guyana’s children be more protected from violence and abuse?
Finally, will Guyanese use the opportunity to Register and will those thousands of ID cards from the previous Registration Exercise be uplifted?
There is no doubt that all these commemorative and celebratory activities were well organised with much fanfare and media blitz, and, as usual, various stakeholders presented their messages of support, commendation or solidarity. The messages were, indeed inspiring and the PNCR not only added its voice but participated in many activities.
AMERINDIAN HERITAGE MONTH
In extending greetings to the Indigenous Community of Guyana on the commencement of Heritage Month, the Party stated that this significant occasion provided an opportunity to reflect on the significant social, cultural and economic contributions, which Amerindians have made to the development of Guyana.
Today, there are still too many reports of human trafficking of Amerindian women as well as sexual and economic exploitation of young Amerindian boys and girls. Over the past year, several such notorious cases have been publicised in the national newspapers.
While much is still to be achieved, our indigenous citizens can still boast of being treated as citizens with equal rights and opportunities like all Guyanese. The exceptions, of course, are where those citizens express views contrary to those of the ruling PPP, and, where villages fail to change their political allegiances.
A useful example was presented at the opening ceremony held at the Sophia Exhibition site on Wednesday September 1, last.
PNCR Vice Chairman, Dr. George Norton, performing under his proper role as Chief of the Guyana Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (G.O.I.P.) made an excellent presentation during which he highlighted the dilemma of the indigenous population, if those who promoted that Guyana’s politics should remain racially polarised succeed.
During what should have been a Presidential Address for Amerindian Heritage Month, President Bharrat Jagdeo used the opportunity to literally “cuss out” and verbally attack Dr. George Norton, the Chief of GOIP, and an Amerindian leader, for the views he expressed during his earlier address to the Ceremony.
The intolerance of President Jagdeo is, however, demonstrative of the manner in which his Administration has treated Indigenous people during their tenure of Office. Unless the village accepts the political guidelines of the ruling Party, they are penalised in the same manner as non-PPP communities across Guyana, such as Hopetown, Belladrum and Buxton, have been discriminated against.
The villagers of Kako in the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven, and those of Tiger Pond and Aranaputa Valley in Rupununi, Region Nine could provide abundant evidence of this PPP-style discrimination over the years.
The intolerance and disrespect was also demonstrated in the manner the purported consultations, (which were in fact mere presentations,) on the Low Carbon Development Strategy, LCDS, were carried out in the Amerindian Villages.
Now that the media hype over Amerindian Heritage Month is about to conclude, will the Jagdeo Administration change its attitude and approach to indigenous issues. Or, do we wait until the magical month of September comes again next year for another media and publicity blitz to hide the reality?
It is time, however, for the Jagdeo Administration to stop playing politics with issues relating to Amerindian development. Like every citizen the Amerindian is entitled to his share of the national patrimony and the PPP is doing no favour in providing adequate resources for their well-being.
EDUCATION MONTH
Education Month 2010, was held under the theme, “Child Friendly Home, Child Friendly Classroom and Quality Education”. In its message, the PNCR stated that the choice of the theme by the Ministry of Education should result in that Ministry effecting the very necessary improvements in the education sector. But, will that be the result?
Our children are unquestionably some of our country’s greatest assets and we must ensure that all programmes are organised to make them well developed and contributing citizens of our country.
It must be noted that at one time our literacy rate was one of the highest, if not the highest in the Region. Now unhappily, despite statements to the contrary, it is abysmally low. It took a long time for the Ministry and its Minister, Shaik Baksh, to acknowledge this reality: long after many organisations, including the PNCR, had not only recognised this situation but had commenced programmes in several communities to correct this deficiency.
An evaluation of the recently run vacation literacy programme by the Ministry of Education is, therefore, necessary to determine the cost / benefit of the programme as against the Ministry providing support to other well established programmes.
Ultimately, the success of such programmes will depend heavily upon the allocation of both human and financial resources, adequate enough to meet the serious deficiencies. Piecemeal approaches will be meaningless.
While new school buildings may be needed, teaching aids that are appropriate and relevant must be provided. Qualified and committed teachers must also be motivated and inspired to give of their best, in preparing and equipping our children with this most important development tool – education.
The Ministry has outlined many initiatives. Many programmes have also been planned and it is to be hoped that the implementation of these can be sustained throughout the year.
It is still regrettable, however, that many of our young people feel that there is no future for them here in Guyana, so why learn?
This feeling of hopelessness must be dispelled and the question still remains whether Education Month, with its most worthy theme, was a catalyst that could bring education, once again, to the premier place it occupied in the lives of all our people.
Come September 2011, the nation would be in a position to evaluate progress. It is also to be hoped that episodes such as the non- appointment of Ms. Genevieve Whyte-Nedd, who acted for years as Chief Education Officer, would be a matter of the past.
Come September 2011 it is to be hoped that there will be no Jagdeo Administration to politicize important public service positions that have dire consequences for our education system.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
Martin Luther King Jr, Statement, “True peace is not the absence of tension but the presence of Justice”, is worthy of reflection in this month of September. It is unfortunate, however, that the yearnings of Guyanese for peace are frustrated by the continuing acts of blatant discrimination and injustices which are the daily experiences of Guyanese, particularly, the poor and defenceless.
The rise in violent crime and the escalation of domestic violence further contribute to an insecure environment that affects peace.   Peace, therefore, has no meaning for our citizens who daily have to wage a seemingly endless struggle against these adversities.
On International Day of Peace 2010, the PNCR called upon civil society, the religious and faith–based communities and individuals to contribute towards the creation of  a national environment for sustainable peace and security and to join forces in rooting out those in our midst who are responsible for perpetuating these evils.
However well-intentioned civil society may be, very little can be achieved in the absence of well though out Governmental policies and effective programmes by state institutions, such as the security Forces.  Come September 2011 will conditions for peace be achieved?
CHILD PROTECTION WEEK
On September 24, 2009, on the occasion of Child Protection Week 2009, Stabroek News published an editorial under the caption, “A Ray of Hope”. That editorial highlighted that UNICEF estimated that some 300 million children around the world are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse.
Millions more are vulnerable to joining them as they exist in situations where protection is inadequate or non-existent. The editorial proceeded to commend what it described as the excellent work of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Child Care and Protection Agency in establishing a children’s home in the city and rescuing some of Guyana’s quota of the 300 million.
That newspaper, however, had also highlighted the findings of several interviews with children who had been rescued from extremely dire circumstances and were living at the Children’s Home established by the Agency.
These children, according to that newspaper, spoke painfully about the abuse they suffered; “of being neglected and hungry, running away from abuse at home, begging on the streets to survive, being forced to beg by their drug and alcohol-addicted parents and being abused while doing so and granting sexual favours to adults in return for money to help support their parents and siblings.”
One year later, as we commemorate the occasion, it would be useful to have an objective evaluation to determine what progress has been made in this area.
The PNCR recognises that children require love, guidance and sympathy. Adults and leaders, at all levels of our society, must become positive examples and role models for our children. Society must also address the challenges posed by the growing number of single-parent households, which represent a significant number of family units.
The blame for problems besetting children in single-parent households, cannot, however, be placed wholly on the single parent. Many are forced to seek employment wherever and whenever it is available merely to eek out an existence. In most cases, because of the educational and/or skill levels of the parent, the types of employment available, requires him/her to spend the critical quality hours away from the home.
The reality is that because of the economic and social demands to earn a “living”, the heads of single-parent households are often unable to provide their children with the type of supervision and guidance which they need in their daily lives. This often results in the children being exposed to the various types of predatory abuses which have become prevalent in our society.
Many of these single parents are forced to rely on the teachers to fulfill their role as supervisors in the lives of their children.  The School system is, however, ill equipped to provide this support.
The lack of parental supervision often leads to various types of vulnerabilities and abuse, resulting in school attendance being low, school drop-out rates high, street children, mini-bus riders and children vendors.
The pivotal role of the father in the development of the child is important and has been generally de-emphasised. In this context, those organisations, particularly religious ones, such as the First Assembly of God Church under Reverend Raphael Massiah, ought to be commended for implementing programmes to deal with this deficiency.
On Child Protection Week 2010, the PNCR emphasised however, that the publicly observable examples of executive lawlessness, corruption and predatory behaviour, including rising child pornography and sex trafficking, cannot contribute to the creation of the sort of environment where our children can feel safe and protected.
In addition, the present reality of pervasive and rising levels of extreme poverty is certainly not conducive for the creation of the needed “child friendly” environment.
Whats Next? Come September 2011 will the Rights of the Child Commission be fully functional with the respect of all Guyanese? OR, will Child Protection Week 2010 be another exercise of fantasy and see the Office of the President heeding public Opinion so that this Commission would be relieved of any member involved in any scandal that could prejudice the Functioning of such a Commission?
RELEVANCE OF CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION
Ironically, while the commencement of Continuous Registration may appear to be irrelevant to all the hype associated with September, it may very well be the catalyst for fundamental change: Change that can guarantee that “Come September 2011” Guyana is blessed with a new Administration that can indeed make a difference: to Amerindians, to Education, to Protection of the Child and ensuring justice that could guarantee real and true peace.
It is a worthy and commendable objective that should encourage all Guyanese to register to be equipped to vote for Change in 2011.