This is a Friday I wanted to use as time-out. To do a “cop-out” from the stress and challenges of these Guyana times.
But no! I feel constrained to add my voice – in print – to lament the political divisions which featured – and still do – in the wake of the tragedy of the murderous massacres at Lusignan and Bartica.
Now after waxing nostalgic about Bartica as others are doing because of a real love of the innocent location; after wondering about the seeming futility of Guyanese living in some thing named “unity” or “harmony” (not his words); regular letter-writer with an incisive pen, Robin Williams, just this past Tuesday, concluded: “Maybe it is time for us to decide if we are destined to live together. And that “a house divided against itself will never stand. It is obvious that this country has never been more divided amongst itself.”
I don’t know if the sincere Mr Williams actually lives within the borders of his beloved Guyana. Or if he experienced, in his adulthood, the real race-based killings of the turbulent sixties – one night “African”, one night “Indian.”
Because even amongst the chaos of this criminal enterprise, seemingly, obviously organized with criminal military-like direction and precision, I am of the strong, evidence-supported view that the Guyanese people at the poor working-class level, the hundreds of thousands of youths, the housewives and even most of the rapacious business class – all still live or exist in some cohesion, a workable oneness.
Yes I know that once at home around the dinner table, in the bedroom or backyard each group will discuss the day’s discrimination, a government or employer policy which results in rabid racism (or the favouritism enjoyed by another rival(?) competitive group. But I submit that those considerations, those grouses do not run as lastingly deep amongst most ordinary Guyanese. O.K. the more politically-oriented, the ethnic-specific die-hards harbour race and division in their souls perhaps. But not my typical Guyanese.
Unlike the warring factions and sects of Iraq, the hostile tribes of Kenya or Rwanda, the “ethnic/nationalists” of India or Serbia, we Guyanese still work, play, worship, eat and go to market cricket and kite-flying together.
Together! Oh, how we take that simple but significant togetherness for granted. Even if the real adhesive love is not always at large, that togetherness is there – and elusive elsewhere. I submit too, Mr Williams, that the division, the stark disunity-friendly differences are at the top of our Guyanese social pyramid.
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Division at the top
Just look, experience what happened to and with our political “leaders” since the atrocities of Lusignan and Bartica!
Some societies use tragedy – whether man-made calamity or natural disaster – as a glue to stick together to triumph over that tragedy which is viewed as a common enemy. Even as – or after – they debate who or what was to blame and about how best to tackle and prevail over the mischief or evil.
But not in little, depressed and blighted Guyana! Not here! All our top leaders seem to be able to agree upon – is to be able to disagree! We at the middle or bottom hear their bickerings.
For example, since Lusignan, the government and the main Opposition Party could not even agree on signing a joint communiqu
