Life in Guyana can be a series of puzzlements or strange behaviours that often remain unexplained, or not attended to, sometimes for years after they emerge. A prime example is the construction work by the American Embassy which has been going on for what seems like a year now, on Young Street. The area in front of the embassy is barricaded on three sides, perhaps with safety concerns for persons or vehicles passing, which is commendable when one considers other construction sites in Guyana, but information on details of the project are, to say the least scant. No one I spoke with, and I spoke with several, knows exactly what the Yanks are up to behind the barricades. In a similar scenario in the developed world there would be a massive public awareness campaign including ads in the newspapers, spot announcements on the radio, and a huge “We Apologize” billboard at each end of the street, explaining what is going on, in easy-to-read, full-colour treatments. Citizens would stop and take pictures of the billboards, and it would be all over social media. Potted plants would be spaced out to brighten the site. In Georgetown, we see none of that. Young Street is narrowed by the barricades on the south side, and to top it off there is a barrier at the western end of the road which, in effect, turns it into a one-way in the daytime, courtesy of the American Embassy.
The construction process in front of the embassy comes with a solid barrier, 8 feet high, curved at the two ends, so that even as you drive right past the operation you cannot get even a glimpse of what they are actually creating within. Overseas, such barriers would have a number of viewing windows; here the blackout is total. Perhaps our American friends are constructing an underground tunnel to whisk travellers directly to Miami saving us from having to deal with Dynamic Airlines or Travel Span; perhaps it’s an outdoor running track for embassy staff. Or maybe it’s actually some top-secret CIA operation