Dear Editor,
Recent developments in the relationship between Cuba and the United States have reinforced my belief in the ‘audacity of hope’ and the positives which can result from having such hope. In my November 27, 2008 letter (‘Guyanese should have the audacity to hope’), I expressed a heartfelt belief in the presidency of Barack Obama.
Today, I am further encouraged by President Obama’s inspired move to restore relations with Cuba and, in so doing, usher in a new era of cordial relations between the United States and Cuba.
Experience does not necessarily come with personal involvement. Experience can come through learning from others. The dismantling of 54 years of hostility between the USA and Cuba has seen hardliners and the vengeful calling President Obama’s foreign policy move, weak and caving in. Others know it requires astute leadership to recognise changed times and be willing to be part of the change and lead the change.
The end of the Cold War, the valuable role of information and communication technology in commerce and human relations, and a new order that places people’s rights and the rule of law as critical to good governance, make isolating Cuba anti-progressive.
President Obama, by this action, is proving to the world that leaders are capable in moments of controversy, to stand apart and lead in the interest of all. From his vantage point, he is taking history into his hands and moulding it to forge new ways of building relations that would open avenues for mutual benefit.
Closer to home ours is a politics, internal and national, caught up in a never-ending cycle of controversy. This vice witnesses the obsession to plunder the people’s resources, to settle imaginary scores, and to fabricate stories to feed the need to hate, as the people’s dreams remain deferred and some of the weary flee.
Our country cries for leadership that will solve problems, respect the rights of others, and subject itself to some system of control (laws, rules, etc). These are the fundamentals that few want to acknowledge, respect and deliver.
When these fundamentals are seen as paramount, they create opportunities to unleash the people’s potential in building a nation that would be great for all to see. It offers the possibility of living the dream of being, One People, One Nation, with One Destiny and free!
To be consumed by the belief that leadership means the standard you set for others won’t be the one you follow, is to ignore that the abused, tired and worn, will one day stand up and say, “enough is enough.” No 4 of my party objectives states, “To motivate the people of Guyana to improve by their own efforts their individual and community well-being,” so it is only natural to expect the people to reach out and achieve what is so affirmed!
Yours faithfully,
Sharma Solomon