Dear Editor,
During my last visit to Guyana in August of 2014, I was confronted by several persons who told me that they were very much aware that I had a lot to say about what is happening on the social and political front of our nation. And they questioned how I could be thousands and thousands of miles away in London and really know what is happening at home. “You have to be here on the ground, Norman Browne, to really know what is going on. We have to tell you what is happening because we are here all the time,” one gentleman said.
I am a very patient and understanding person and I have a lot of time for people who show even the slightest interest in seeing change for the better in our country. I told them we were no longer living in the ’70s and ’80s, and the world had shrunk, in relation to the dissemination of information, to a very small place with the advent of the electronic media.
Technology is doing wonders in the 21st century, and with the emergence of social networking sites, even mainstream newspapers and television are relying on facebook, twitter and youtube to bring breaking news to the world.
Long gone are those days when we had to write a letter and take a long walk to the post office and wait almost three weeks for it to get to Europe and America. Gone are the days when we had to go to a photo studio or search for a local photographer who would take up to four or five days to get our photos to us.
Things have changed in a major and magical way and all we need is a smartphone and possibly two international calling cards to function effectively from the diaspora. In fact, I seldom use calling cards since the advent of Facebook Messenger. You can make calls from there without physically typing in phone numbers. It is that easy.
Everywhere you go in Guyana, even in the poorest of areas, people have smartphones and Internet. In a fast-paced and inquisitive world the smartphone is more of a necessity than a luxury.
What those persons should understand is that they could be right there in Linden when a giant turtle finds its way among shoppers in the Mackenzie Market and I can access that information while travelling across Tower Bridge, long before they cross the river from Wismar and are surprised by that sight. In fact, I could pass on that information along with a photo of the giant turtle to a Guyanese-American friend doing military service in Afghanistan, even before any of them would have completed their three-minute journey by boat from Wismar to Mackenzie.
During the Linden Struggle, I was told that people right there on the ground were relying on updates from my page to know what was happening in the different areas of our town. I was doing it with two international calling cards, two phones and a laptop computer while sitting on my bed.
Even though my primary purpose is to keep our people in the wider world informed about issues on the ground, with the intention of arousing their interest so that they too can actively participate in our fight to see change, the revelation that people right at Linden were looking here on my page for updates took me by surprise.
There were times when I had to call my contacts in the various locations to verify some questionable information coming to my news feed by the second. Sensitive information was sent to my inbox and some even sought advice while being active in the struggle. I am not saying this to impress my readers. This struggle is too serious for any of us to be patting ourselves on the shoulder.
I am not peeved by people at home believing that because they actually are there and we are overseas that automatically they had to be more informed about issues.
Some people have no interest in whether change comes to Guyana. They are busy getting on with their lives, fair play to them. Every man to his own order.
A woman phoned me and was complaining about a matter that was personally affecting her in her community. I offered her advice. It was the same week Nigel Hughes had a walkabout in that area visiting residents. I asked how Nigel’s visit went. She seemed at a loss as to the name, much less the visit, while I could tell her the colour of the footwear Nigel wore and who were some of her neighbours he met and to whose concerns he listened.
The time has come when we all must take some time to look at what matters to us as a people. 2015 must see us shifting into a new gear to bring back our country from the brink. Every teenager, every labourer, every hustler, every cane-cutter and schoolteacher, pastor, Imam and priest; every Guyanese must pause, reflect and join the struggle to take back Guyana from the lawless regime that has hijacked it.
Guyana must breathe again the fresh air of freedom and bask in the golden rays of change. I am right there with you. So far and yet so near.
The struggle must not only continue in 2015, it must be intensified. Change must come.
Yours faithfully,
Norman Browne
London