Dear Editor,
A few months ago, a friend of mine returned home for a holiday after an absence of many years. On his last visit, Regent Street buildings, Sookraj and Kissoon were being devoured by fire. In his own words then, he watched the flames as he retreated down Camp Street vowing never to return. However, as fate would have it he came back and our sunshine and rum removed the arthritis aches his adopted country could not.
One day he remarked that he could no longer read the dailies, and when I asked why he replied that they carried too many tragic events. I explained that we were not oblivious to them but it had become a way of life for us.
I happened to take him to the bank to conduct some business and on leaving he was gripped with fear as he held my hand tightly whilst we were walking asking me if we were being followed. At first I was amused but I realized that he was serious and it was a relief to take him home.
We live amidst the cancer of fear and have been doing so for a long, long time, but life goes on with us trying to be cautious where we go without any guarantee of safety. However, Guyana is not alone, and not much worse than Jamaica and Trinidad when it comes to crime.
Even in metropolitan countries there are crimes in certain areas that one dares not venture into alone. But to take comfort from such comparison is not the answer, because Guyana is much too small for crime not to be contained. We need integrity, good intelligence and a restoration of confidence with the populace.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address
provided)
