Dear Editor,
A now familiar state of “normalcy” graces Guyana. The inklings of a soft peace abound in a number of forums. Here are a few.
The Glorious Leader has abandoned silence and absenteeism, and prowls around waving a stick that is big and loud. It is one that is also hollow. The man responsible for Interior preens in that pre-watering hole of a place called parliament and declares success in the crime fight. Perhaps, he also was gun-butted in the head by his neighbor. The nation should be grateful that the pendulum has progressed along an arc that started with “zero tolerance” and a “war on crime” to finally…well, success. There are even parliamentary committees to negate any charges of a Lone Ranger approach by the government in this latest battle, fight and war. Time will expose this latest stratagem for that which it really is: tokenism.
Further, there is quiet on all fronts and points, even in the letter columns. In the latter, there are deviations towards-and exchanges on-Obama, apologies and fortitude, corruption and evidence, and the crime bogeymen locked in a Siamese embrace with the PNC. In other words, now that the blood has dried, the mourners have departed, and communities are left to grieve, the normalcy of “same old, same old” and the frightful business of living have both taken over.
Yes, the normalcy of this soft peace will hover tentatively amidst the daily fear and despair in shell shocked villages, and the revenge meted out on a dark city street. This soft peace will exist until it is overwhelmed by the hard reality of gunfire in the dark and the memories of destruction by the light of our days. Then, it will be time to wring hands and point fingers. Again.
Yours faithfully,
G.H.K. Lall
