Dear Editor,
Our heritage buildings are turning away tourists and embarrassing us as Guyanese.
I was appalled to read about and see for myself evidence of the rotting and disintegration of parts of our City Hall – a once beautiful monument at the corner of Regent and High Street.
I also listened with not a little dismay, disappointment and shame to a TV report about the state of the exterior pavements surrounding our Parliament Building in Brickdam, because of the presence of some of our homeless, those of unsound mind as well as those referred to as ‘junkies.’
I now write to comment on the nocturnal (and sometimes during the day as well) activities of several of these same types of individuals on the steps of the once majestic St George’s Cathedral – claimed to be the tallest wooden building in the world! Low-cost and affordable efforts by the administration of the cathedral have failed to deter these persistent image-destroyers, who arrive with sheets of cardboard, Styrofoam boxes of food, paper and plastic bags. They sleep on the steps until the next morning (waking up fleetingly just to satisfy the part-time security system engaged to remove them). These persons defecate around the building and sometimes on the steps themselves.
What greets those of us who arrive at the cathedral for the 6.30 mass on Sunday mornings is nothing short of distressing! I have personally seen tourists on some occasions re-enter their vehicles and just drive around the cathedral for fear of what these persons may do, when normally, they would on non-service days enter and tour the building.
My information from a very reliable source is that St Andrews Kirk, opposite Parliament Buildings in Brickdam faced similar problems, before the church was fenced.
This fourth version of St George’s Cathedral was dedicated in 1894. At that time problems of this nature that the nation is encountering did not exist. These are certainly different times. These are now challenges we never foresaw.
There need now to be revolutionary solutions. These will no doubt be costly too. Unfortunately, the cathedral administration will be hard put to afford this. But whose responsibility is it for the security and preservation of such a beautiful historical site? Who has the revolutionary ideas? Who can help to implement them? Can big businesses help? Not only would we like our tourists to visit and feel happy doing so, but also because we are a proud Guyanese nation. We too are proud of our heritage buildings.
Urgent help is required.
Yours faithfully,
Joyce Sinclair