Dear Editor,
On Thursday, the appearance of a government advertisement in Stabroek News inviting farmers from Buxton to a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture seemed to be a sign of hope that things might change. However, the Chronicle headline that same day “Corbin making himself a fool’ , remarks attributed to Dr Luncheon, was the sign that things were not going to change, and if anything, the citizens of Guyana would be the ones to suffer from the grandstanding of the political parties.
The last few days have seen an exchange of words and ‘he seh , but dat is not wat I seh” . This reflects poorly on our ability to communicate, which would restrict our ability to build peace. The politicians shouting and screaming at each other through press conferences, television interviews and statements in the media apparently seem not to want to listen, and yet expect others to listen to them. The meeting at Buxton is a classic example of a wasted opportunity to start building the bridges necessary for recovery. Those who are going to engage any of the residents on the east coast must have the kahnchaat; they have to be prepared to shut up and listen, first and allow the anger and frustration to be defused.
Members of the govern-ment (and opposition?) who were in Lusignan on Saturday 27 in the morning, had to deal with a lot of words, insults and reportedly physical attacks. The government, which itself has been accused of harbouring drug dealers, must know what it is like to be accused of harbouring criminals, as the residents of Buxton are going through. The government has not had to bear the brunt of any country’s army taking occupation of Guyana.
I am probably a fool too for thinking that it is only Buxton the criminals use as their base, when in 2002 Subryanville and Lamaha Gardens were scenes of shoot outs between police and wanted men. This thing named ‘national’ security is not supposed to marginalise any section of the nation, but should include the law abiding citizens who wish to move forward with resolving the crisis, regardless of their real or perceived political affiliations or beliefs.
Those of us who are praying for peace, have to work hard for it. On all sides, it will mean having to sit down with people regardless of how you think they think and believe and to agree to work from there. It means dealing with all the perceptions of who are responsible for crime, and who are not responsible. Any Hindu should be willing to dialogue and talk with any other, knowing that the ‘other’ is not really different from you. Compassion and humility are supposed to be unconditional virtues.
Religious leaders who are asked to intervene, must be able to identify when power imbalances hinder any constructive dialogue. When we talk of religions, we must recognise the Rastafari religion as a valid expression of faith in Guyana. Our collective anger and shock at the Lusignan incident, even if we forget to count the other murders in this year, is one of the common experiences which we could use to catalyse that dialogue.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
