Dear Editor,
So the issue of illegal or undocumented Guyanese in Barbados is once again in the news.
Well the question Mr Jagdeo’s government should be concerned about is not the treatment of his people as he puts it, but why Guyanese leave in the first place.
We continue to divide our people to the extent that it has ruined our ability to develop our country as a place where we can all exist comfortably. This situation as we know is not new, but while the past should have no power to tie us to the present, it is our past grievances that so badly affect our present thinking. As they say ‘A grievance is the baggage of past thought and emotion.’
The only way out of this dilemma is to find the courage to break with the past and seek new, progressive and dynamic leadership that is in no way connected to the current old-style leadership that is steeped in the ‘us against them’ mentality. The PPP and PNC have outlived their usefulness, and need to move aside to facilitate a new breed of leadership that has Guyana’s development at heart and will utilize the talents and skills of all our people irrespective of their ethnicity. But most of all we should do so for the glory of Guyana.
We are used to blaming our dilemma on the bad hand history has dealt us and all manner of other political or global economical ailments, when in fact we are chiefly the ones to be blamed and have the power in our hands to demand better rather than accept the notion that we are only safe under our own ethnic banners. We must lift up our heads proudly and confidently and quit the notion that we are not the only country in a particular situation when things go wrong; after all we must be responsible for our actions and should not take comfort in being in the company of other failures.
Guyanese are allowing themselves to be trodden on and I believe that we are as good or better than other nations in the region and beyond.
Rise up Guyana and take back your place as a proud nation.
Yours faithfully,
B.A Ramsay
