Dear Editor,
The only people who can help “fix” this country of ours are the ones who genuinely believe it can be fixed. Such people are few as against the majority who feel staying away from it or leaving is the best option. It depends on collective thinking and action. Such thinking and action are deemed as going against the grain, meaning going against others, even though they may agree that such thinking and action therefrom would be effected directly or indirectly.
Those who chose the diasporic route are in a system where personal development is the ideal –no argument there – but they can’t say that those who stayed are wrong in doing so. I have come to the conclusion that Guyanese, wherever they are, still truly believe in their hearts that Guyana is home. They truly believe that Guyana can and will achieve its true potential. In other words they truly believe that should the perfect circumstances come along, there will be an avalanche of returnees from everywhere. That is the collective thinking I referred to earlier. However, for those perfect circumstances to arise we would have to cast aside race, religion, suspicion and superstition, which is what GHK Lall referred to as the reason they should not return to the land of their birth. Mr Lall’s views should be considered worthwhile, but we can’t help thinking, collectively (diasporic and homegrown) that there is a way. We already have the collective thinking; let’s take it from there.
Yours faithfully,
P Harris
