Dear Editor,
A poor political culture and weak examples of leadership by prominent personalities in the corridors of power have led to the demise of civic and community expectations. The tradition of self help and the lessons of the good samaritan have all disappeared in the excitement of new enterprises.
The legendary Gandhi once said that the world had enough to meet the needs of people but not enough to satisfy the greed of all. The survival culture of jahajee which the indentured Indians promoted was a concept of cooperation that lent to their survival against the many odds that prevailed at that period; also the box hand practised in many communities.
During the early sixties, I was the boat hand operating the medical service in the Pomeroon River District, when a farmer‘s house in the Lower Pomeroon was razed by fire and two of his children burnt to death. This incident created an atmosphere of profound sadness and caused the community to respond with disaster relief. The Rahims of Charity donated household accessories, while the Catholic and Adventist churches donated clothing and school items for the remaining children; Barakat Sawmills rebuilt the house; the Stolls, Goveias, Gobins and Van Sluytmans donated cash; black flags adorned the river banks and fire prevention was a topic in many schools.
All these acts of human compassion were missing when tragedy struck on December 18, 2012, resulting in the death of six persons in a river collision. I visited the site of the accident since I was a resident of the area. Even at the funeral site at Charity, where the last rites were to be performed, there were few pall bearers to remove the four coffins from the regional truck, even though the number of sympathizers exceeded five hundred.
Where do we go from here? Do we expect the North Americans, Canadians, or our former British custodians to come and help remove our garbage, or reintroduce social etiquette? As Guyanese how do we feel to observe VSOs and five nuns at the St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church removing garbage from Charity car park? And copying from others, by not having hanging or whipping, but having laws for same sex cohabitation.
Yes, the lives of great men all remind us that we can live our lives sublimely and in departing leave behind us footprints in the sands of time. Where are our footprints? Where is leadership by example or the patriotism that our ancestors had.
Yours faithfully,
I Basir
