Dear Editor,
I was a member of the Region 10 team that travelled to Kwakwani for our 47th Independence Anniversary celebrations. There I encountered an individual in the employ of the region who narrated to me his plight. It was one of those types of treatment that riled me up and derailed my tranquility ‒ really had me going nuts. It was contempt and ‘eye-pass.’ plain and simple; shabby treatment meted out to an ordinary worker which couldn’t have gotten any shabbier and brought to mind that which says: “The best index of a person’s character is how s/he treats people who can do them no good and those who can’t fight back.” It makes you doubt if anything would ever change for the better. ‘Stella says’ is in order: “There is need for a new leadership style.” Now I read a poem there which I walked with as my contribution for the occasion, called the ‘Bottomline.’ Oh what a coincidence it turned out to be, a prophetic selection, smack on spot. It’s a poem about people who want to treat others any old way and yet expect all things to be bright and beautiful.
Here’s that story: The brother said that he went to Kwakwani on Tuesday in the capacity of a worker to build the stage for the Independence Anniversary celebrations; he was told that he would be assisted by two labourers/helpers. Then he met a regional official who gave him a key to a building where he was supposed to be accommodated, but upon entering, it was in a terrible mess: “Buddy, if yuh see the condition of duh place! I couldn’t stay deh.” He reported back to the official who said to him, “there is nothing I can do; that’s the place that was provided for you.” With a little bit of luck he connected with a resident who offered to keep his belongings and supply meals for which he paid a sum from his pocket, by the way; according to the brother, meals were not a part of the deal!
Nevertheless he went to work and almost single-handedly completed the stage, the two helpers, he said, didn’t stick around for long.
On Thursday when a more senior official arrived, he approached him and informed him about his situation. This second official, he related, simply repeated what the first one said to him: “Can’t do anything about that” ‒ end of story. Talk about people being callous; none of them, he said, bothered even to check the place; the fact is they knew very well that it was in a deplorable state.
Dear Reader please understand that the region has access to other buildings in Kwakwani, also there is a hotel with relatively cheap rooms. Thus from Tuesday to Saturday afternoon when the team from Linden arrived along with other much more senior executives, this brother was virtually hanging out in the streets and public places! It was not until after relating his story yet again to another much more senior regional official ‒ the deputy REO – who arrived on the Saturday afternoon that a place at the very hotel was provided for him and he received meals along with the team. I need not tell you that he had to do some manoeuvring for his departure since he had not been bargained for, but luckily was accommodated by the Vice Chairman whose crew he travelled with.
Now you see why people have such a dread of politics and politicians. If these indefensible acts meted out to ordinary people for no reason don’t disturb you, then you are no better than the people who do them; understand that with the slightest change in the equation they will not hesitate to treat you in the same way. It sorts of cut you dead to see how people in authority crave the best for themselves but are so cold and brutal to those less fortunate. They put on a show before all eyes just to give an impression, look clean and decent but it’s all a lie, a fake; they miss the bottom line on how to treat people. They content and comfort themselves in being past masters of all the dirty and low-down practices they have seen and gleaned from their superiors and leaders. Thus they hypocritically outdo themselves to impress and please those they consider important – though some be scoundrels and underserving ‒ while they despise and look down on good people, and see them as insignificant simply because they are everyday people. We are so annoyingly skin deep; everything done is for the surface, and we see this repulsive behaviour today everywhere. These people become entrenched and the folks who act this way spread their wings and shamelessly strut proudly and large, fooling around. Makes me wonder aloud; does this kind of behaviour give them a feeling of greater importance? Is there some kind of yearning within that is being assuaged? This is not the first such case; it has occurred before elsewhere, and there is no easy way of telling if it will not be allowed to continue. But like I always say, one of the worst things in any society is to be taken advantage of and not have anywhere to turn to have it redressed. Indeed, the person who said that the world’s greatest need is not for oil, clean water or food, but moral leadership, is correct.
Editor, I want to emphasize that I’ve been in town long enough, and that after careful observation of the many who were opposed to former President Forbes Burnham and criticized and harangued him, I have come to realize that some of them simply held a grudge against him and envied him, merely because they were denied the opportunity to enjoy the grand privileges of power which he exploited to his satisfaction. The bottom line is that these people wanted to be just like him; see now how well the coat fits.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
