Dear Editor,
The description of the behaviour of youths as given by Mr Mervyn Gobin in his letter, ‘We need to get our youths back in the churches,’ (July 14, 2008) pertains more to urban areas than to rural locations. I live in Berbice and move around quite a lot and in my interactions with children and young people I observe little of the uncouthness and misbehaviour that Mr Gobin sees as endemic where he lives.
Regularly, as I wend my way to work, I pass school children of all ages who would greet me with a courteous, “Good morning, sir,” or if they know me, “Good morning, Uncle Michael.” I have never heard the reply Mr Gobin got, “We don’t know you.” I am told that in interior regions every child you pass would greet you with, “Good morning/afternoon/evening.” I got a good dose of that courtesy when I visited Hosororo-Mabaruma for a weekend last year.
Once I saw a schoolboy drop a piece of litter on the road and I mildly rebuked him, asking if that was what his teachers taught him. He said nary a word. I guess if Mr Gobin tries that where he lives he might get some, “@#$%^&*!” When I visit schools from time to time, teachers would often tell me that the children are scared of me! I think teachers often allow themselves to get too familiar with their students and as the old saying goes, ‘Familarity breeds contempt.’
I have found that if you use the right approach, even in an urban area, you can get children to listen to you. In 2003 while walking along Camp Street, in the vicinity of Courts building, I saw a group of primary school children exchanging cigarettes. Other adults saw, looked away and passed on. I stopped and gave them a stern mini-lecture on the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Every one of those children dropped his cigarette on the pavement and promised me that he will never smoke. (I couldn’t have taught the no-litter lesson; one lesson at a time.) Whether or not they ever will smoke I don’t know, but at least they know the dangers of smoking.
On the matter of youth church attendance, I notice parents with their children going to or coming from their various places of worship on Sundays. I note the same with Seventh Day Adventists who worship on the Sabbath (Saturday) and Muslims who worship at Friday prayers. Over the past two years I visited a number of churches of different denominations to observe their worship practices and one of the striking observations I have made is the significant presence in them of children and young people with their parents. The pastors generally do good work in guiding their young people. A good thing I have seen is that the denominational squabbles and in-fighting of the 1980s seems to have ceased. Right now a church is holding an open-air meeting on the empty lot where the old Apollo cinema once stood in Rose Hall, and a lot of young people are in attendance.
Berbice is also blessed with the presence of wholesome youth clubs run by skillful and dynamic young people of good character, and these have contributed in no small way to the positive behaviour of our youths. These clubs and youth developers will be with us for a very long time to come. May they grow from strength to strength. This is not to say that we don’t have problems; we do. But they are not as bad as Mr Gobin’s description of his area.
So, Mr Gobin, don’t make sweeping generalizations of all Guyanese youths based on observations where you live. Your observations are an urban phenomenon caused by the high population density, diverse kinds of pollution, watching too much violence on TV and DVD, and seeing violent adult behaviour and attitudes, among other factors. Although humans are gregarious beings, we do need physical space and fresh air to live decently and we get that in rural areas. Living nose-to-tail with your neighbours can be problematic. And that’s putting it mildly.
Rising ocean levels might be a blessing in disguise, as it would force us to spread out and live more inland where there is space aplenty, as well as peace.
Yours faithfully,
M Xiu Quan-Balgobind-Hackett