Dear Editor,
Guyana observed its 38th anniversary since becoming a republic last week. What is there to celebrate in this country at present? What is there so co-operative about our republic? Politicians from the different parties despise each other and refuse to cooperate to rescue the country from its current malaise. Ethnic groups are prejudiced against one another. We are in national mourning and may remain in permanent mourning if the killer gang has its way with threats to kill more.
Looking at what has been happening in Guyana since becoming a republic in 1970 or even as an independent nation since 1966, is the country better off today under its present status as a republic? How much have we progressed as a nation? Is the price of the progress we have made since 1966 worth it and where are we going as a nation with all the massacres that have occurred over the last few years?
I have spoken to many elderly Guyanese in NY about what life was like in Guyana prior to independence. I was too young to have any meaningful impressions of life in colonial Guyana. But the elderly told me life was a lot better and they yearn for the return of “the White man”. As one put it: “Beta abi bein better off under White man”.
I do not recollect ever suffering from a shortage of food or hearing people express fear of being killed by bandits or rebels. In fact, crime was minimal. Although the country did not experience much development, everyone lived in peace and appreciated each other’s presence. There were ethnic tensions and race riots towards the end of colonial rule. But overall, the country was relatively calm. Law and order was not a major problem as people respected the authorities and the British were tough on maintaining order. That certainly is not the case today; people lack respect for law and order. The city of Georgetown is unkempt and has lost its reputation as the green city of flowers.
Elderly Guyanese are nostalgic for the past and told me they prefer colonial rule over the current independent status. They recall the calm and quiet atmosphere that existed during the white man’s rule. The streets of Georgetown were clean and orderly. People went about their business safely and did not have to be worried about bandits or choke and rob and about getting killed walking the streets or in their homes. People used to be out in the streets late at night and walked on the seawall fearlessly during the colonial era.
Colonial rule in Guyana had its problems. which are described in several publications including Cheddi Jagan’s The West on Trial. But the elderly Guyanese now tell me they don’t mind giving up some democratic rights in exchange for peace and prosperity because as they put it today there is neither peace nor prosperity and almost everyone is looking to run to a white man’s country.
Successive governments since independence have failed the nation. “Beta abee na bin punish so much under White man rule” sums up the feelings among Guyanese of how much their country has regressed since independence.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram