Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 11, 2014 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
There is a story carried by the BBC of a young man, still in his twenties, who in his bid to escape from poverty and seek a new life, stowed away on a flight from Angola and was found in London dead.
His dreams of a better life ended as the plane was about to touch down at a London airport after he fell from the skies and was found dead in Portman Avenue, a suburban street in West London. He suffered multiple injuries to his head and face.
According to the BBC report, it took several months later before his body was positively identified as Jose Matada. At the time of his death he had no identity papers on him and no one reported him missing. Police were unable to trace any relatives of his. It was only months later that his parents came forward and identified themselves to the authorities in Mozambique, the country of his birth.
The story of Jose Matada, sad as it is, is by no means an isolated act. Every year, tens of thousands flee the land of their birth to look for greener pastures only to find themselves in situations that they never anticipated, not even in their wildest dreams.
The sad thing about it all is that the refugee problem is largely man-made and resulted mainly from wars and conflicts which forced millions of men, women and children to flee from the communities in which they were born and bred and spent their entire lives, out of fear for their security.
According to reports from humanitarian and aid organizations operating out of Africa, in the Central African Republic, the number of internally displaced people has reached nearly a million due to violence. Most of the displaced are forced to go into hiding in bushes and makeshift homes.
A similar situation has developed in South Sudan, where thousands of people have fled their homes as a result of recent fighting between President Salva Kiir’s government and supporters of his political rival Riek Machar. South Sudan is Africa’s newest state after it ceded from Sudan. Over one thousand have already been killed in the conflict that erupted between the government of South Sudan and rebels.
And in Syria, the number of refugees in Lebanon and other neighbouring countries is running in the millions.
The search for a better and secure life is a natural phenomenon for people all over the globe. We all want to enjoy the good life, but not everyone is prepared to make the sacrifices to work hard and apply themselves in a manner that could lead to a better life.
There are people who out of desperation are prepared to defy the odds to get to the so-called greener pastures. An untold number of people have become the victims of trafficking in persons and ended up as prostitutes and forced into all manner of unsavoury lifestyles, not by choice, but by circumstances over which they have little or no control.
There are several persons who end up as prisoners in foreign lands having entered the country illegally and therefore are condemned to a life of misery and insecurity. For many, the Hobbesian description of life being “short, nasty and poor” has been a permanent feature of their existence.
This is why the importance of hard, dedicated and honest living, regardless of the country of birth, cannot be overemphasized. I have always held the view that it is immeasurably better to be a first class citizen in one’s own country than to be a second class citizen in another country, regardless of how rich that country may be.
It all boils down in the end to our sense of values and pride in our nation and nationhood. Some people can do much better in life rather than to subject themselves to an undignified and unworthy life.
As for me, there can be no place other than Guyana, the land of my birth. Yes, we have our problems and our challenges, but with all of that and more, it is still the best and most wonderful country in the world.
Hydar Ally
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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