Dear Editor,
I am very impressed with the level of intelligent discussions that has been taking place in your newspaper. In many respects, the discussions provide a level of freedom of speech and expression and you should continue to engage and tolerate the free flow of private citizens’ opinions.
The consequence of such freedom is never without reprimand but it takes guts to continue to stand up for what we as private citizens believe in. I applaud Mr. Clairmont Lye for his stance to return a medal which is meaningless without exemplification by a Government who awarded it in the first place. It takes courage for a Guyanese to face up to the truth. If I were president I would have awarded him the Order of Excellence for his show of courage and bravery despite the potential for consequences.
We need more Guyanese like Mr. Lye who do not suck up to the powers that be but stand up for justice and speak out when there is injustice. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated:”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This is no idle expression. It is rooted in the cause that most Guyanese continue to face everyday without knowing how much liberty and freedom is taken away from them. I had once believed that the death of L.F.S Burnham would have been the end to injustice and dictatorship but I deluded myself to believe that 1992 was in fact the dawn of the new era. But I am still dreaming of the promised dawn. Yet I wake up everyday knowing that the era of injustice, cronyism, dictatorship, exp-loitation and discrimination still exists.
It is 2007, let’s get with the programme y’all ! We have greater challenges to deal with than such acts of victimization and arrogance. Global Warming is real: how will it affect Guyana’s coastland, Globalization is real: How does Guyana compete in a global technological environment, the debt burden is increasing: How do we plan to reduce inflation and pay off our debts in the future, crime in Guyana is real: what is the master plan?
I say to all Guyanese, regardless of race, sex, culture or creed, stand up for the truth for the good of Guyana. Emulate Clairmont Lye and you bet we will have change.
As the Psalms of David 89:14 puts it: “Justice and Judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.”
Kudos Mr. Lye.
Yours faithfully,
Steve Hemraj