By Jeff Trotman
Former PNCR parliamentarian Aubrey Norton has called on Linden and Region Ten residents to refrain from blaming the government for everything and to strive to be self-sufficient and engage in micro-businesses.
Norton’s call came last Thursday during a speech at the first anniversary memorial gathering for the three men who were fatally shot during a protest in Linden on July 18 last year. Ron Somerset, 18, Shemroy Bouyea, 24, and Allan Lewis, 46, were fatally shot when police opened fire and discharged tear smoke at hundreds of protestors on the Wismar/Mackenzie Bridge on the evening of the first day of what was intended to be a five-day protest over the planned hike in electricity tariffs for the town.
In his address, Norton told his audience of hundreds of people that “a lot of times you beat a political problem,” before asking rhetorically, “but you have got to turn inside and ask ourselves where do we go?”
He said that Lindeners want to go in a direction that ensures that all of them develop and asserted that a lot of times, they blame government for everything but instead, they have to blame themselves. “It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to recognize that we have to do the things that are required to ensure that our children develop. You can’t curse the government if, when your children come home, you didn’t put them to do homework. You can’t curse a government if your children don’t develop the correct habits. You can’t curse the government if you fail to train your children and prepare them for the world,” Norton declared.
“I want to say this to you this evening, I don’t intend to curse the government; I intend to curse you. I intend to say to you that if you do not do what is required to ensure, first, your children’s development and second, your own development, then the only person to be blamed is you. I want you to understand that the development of your Region is dependent on what you do as an individual to develop,” he added.
Stating that the youthful Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon might have a good vision, Norton stressed he cannot develop the Region and its people by himself. “It is you, who have got to first of all create in your own head, a vision for yourself and children,” Norton asserted.
Emancipation
Highlighting that currently there are only two ways for Lindeners to become independent: either economic or academic, Norton said he would like to see Lindeners pay careful attention to the education of their children. He said that the lawlessness in schools must be stamped out and Lindeners must not miss the opportunity to ensure that their children get a good education and emancipate themselves from all forms of slavery, including, according to Bob Marley, mental slavery.
“We need an approach, which allows us to ensure that our children get education. But we need to co-mix that with an approach that puts more people in Linden into thriving business,” Norton said, adding that countries are built on small business enterprises.
In reiterating that Lindeners must stop believing that their lives depend on the government, Norton said: “Every time I hear the government discriminates against Linden, I’m annoyed because it is bad but I also believe it’s an opportunity for you to organize yourselves from an economic standpoint. You can’t progress if you don’t become involved in business.”
“Is it not a shame that vehicles come to Linden and drive around to sell you (food) when you have land?” he questioned while making reference to a quote from the late President Forbes Burnham, who said, he who feeds you controls you. “If you’re going to seek emancipation, Linden has to go to agriculture,” Norton stressed. “Linden has to plant.”
In highlighting the malaise and dependency syndrome that has kept Linden back, Norton said the skills of Linden are unbelievable and the town had the best machine shop with some of the best fitter/machinists. Yet, the community failed to transform these skills into a business, he said.
According to the former parliamentarian, the people of Linden and the Region “have got to go back to the drawing board and produce businesses in Linden that will make Linden independent.” He stressed that “the best recognition Lindeners can give to the three martyrs is to develop an independence that ensures that no more Lindeners become martyrs because an electricity bill is so high that we can’t afford to pay.
We must as a tribute to the three martyrs carry our economics in the direction that whatever light bill they call, we must have the capacity to pay it – it doesn’t mean we would pay it … because a people, who fail to develop economic independence is a people, who are dependent.”
Respect
Further, Norton, who lectures in the Social Science Faculty of the University of Guyana, made a call for the people of Linden and Region Ten not to allow the society to deteriorate into lawlessness. “I want to put a word to teachers,” he said. “You are the creators of our children. Your attitude, your approach and your whole demeanour will determine whether the children in this community develop and respect you, respect the society …”
Noting that he grew up in an era when teachers were respected, Norton contradicted those who say they were respected because of their salary. According to him, the respect stemmed from how they carried themselves. “We need to regain the situation where our teachers are respected,” Norton said, adding that their children are their greatest asset and “the persons, who mould our children are our teachers. It is good to wine; it is good to dance but not to the detriment of your profession and our children”.
“Let us respect our martyrs,” Norton said in closing his address. “Let us promote our martyrs but let us all get together and build a better Linden, a better Region Ten so that when they look from the grave, if they can, they feel good, they feel nice, they feel that they did not die in vain. I call on you all to ensure that they do not die in vain. They have faced the pain but we are free and therefore, we should move on to ensure that we build a better Linden, a better society with better children, better adults, children respecting adults, adults respecting children …”
The commemoration ceremony ended a week of activities which included a wreath laying ceremony at the Bamia graveside of the three slain men as well as an essay writing competition which was won by Nioce Alsopp, who read the winning essay at Thursday’s commemorative event and sang Bob Marley’s “Redemption’ song, accompanied by the Flame of Arts drummers.
Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon presented the first place trophy for the essay competition to Alsopp, who is also the current Region Ten Junior Calypso Monarch. He also presented trophies to Tanza Warde and Tamara Smith, who tied for second place.
Apart from the feature address, which was delivered by Solomon, the commemorative exercise included musical renditions by Pastor Richard McDonald on saxophone and a number of vocal performances, including Ronnel Gonsalves’ interpretation of Bill Withers’ ‘Lean On Me.’
