Dear Editor,
Ocean levels around the world are rising. Guyana’s coastline is below sea level. As a boy, I can recall seeing shells as far as five miles from the sea dam at the backdam, where my family had a vegetable garden. Is the sea returning to this area? If it is, then Guyana will face a tremendous problem, as our entire coastline will be under many feet of water. Is the government aware of this situation? Is there anything being done to alert the population and plan for large-scale relocation? Have the geophysicists at the University of Guyana found this a matter worthy of their attention?

Governments around the world have earned deserved notoriety for concealing bad news from their populations under the excuse of not wanting to cause panic and alarm. Some governments have sat quietly on knowledge about catastrophic events about to befall their country so as not to scare away investors and tourists. Citizens of any country have the right to be informed of the truth of any impending development which could be life-threatening or will drastically alter their lives.

The Guyana government should be giving this matter serious and urgent attention and providing timely relevant information to the Guyanese people. The Guyanese people should be vigilant and alert, ready to move out once there is a clear indication that the sea is returning to reclaim its territory.

From my private research on this matter, which involved examining maps that give forecasts of world-wide ocean levels projected to the year 2015, I have concluded that Guyanese now inhabiting the coastland should begin making plans to move to higher ground much further inland and away from the banks of our many rivers. Sceptics are invited and encouraged to do their own research.

Yours faithfully,
Jamal Ali