Their goal being to send a strong message of unity and love, four people braved the weather on a five-day walk, starting at Corriverton on Tuesday and ending in Georgetown yesterday.
The ‘Long Walk For Change,’ according to Alicia Roopnaraine, a candidate for the APNU+AFC Coalition, was a radical step taken to spread a message of love and unity at a very critical time in Guyana where persons might be deliberately spreading hate and disunity.
The daughter of prominent politician Rupert Roopnaraine, who was one of the four persons on the walk, said she was motivated by her father who had walked a longer distance in 1985; in 17 days he had walked from Charity to Crabwood Creek.
However, this was not her first long walk, as she had walked from Georgetown to Mahaica at age 11.
Although it was a sacrifice which was painful, the young politician said that the benefits and fulfilment gained by the walk far outweigh the pains.
“It was electrifying. It turned out into a massive movement… We started walking at 7:00 in the morning and finished at 5:00PM, Roopnaraine said as she recounted the fun moments along the journey.
There were cheers from persons in villages along the way and minibus operators kept the group energized and encouraged. Roopnaraine expressed gratitude to the persons who invited them to have a drink of cold water and even in their homes to spend the night.
The news of the walk spread rapidly from village to village and residents were very supportive throughout the journey. The walkers covered about seven to nine hours of walking each day for the five days, which would have completed a total of 107 miles.
Roopnaraine, who is also a member of the Walter Rodney Youth Movement, said the walk became her priority and it is now something that she will talk to her children and grandchildren about.
Attorney Ronald Burch-Smith joined the walk for a while to show his support for the endeavour. “I am supporting the youngsters with good spirt. Spreading the message of love and unity between the two groups and encouraging voters to remain peaceful leading up to the election and afterwards,” the attorney said, while adding that the group encountered some of the supporters from the PPP/C along the journey and they had interactions without any form of hate toward each other being expressed.
Chris Bassoo, one of the persons who conceptualized the event said they were thinking about doing something that would inspire unity and love.
Bassoo, who is a Canada-based Guyanese, said that other persons from Toronto also expressed support for the movement.
He noted that there were many times they felt “sore and broken-up” during the journey but they were encouraged by cheerful supporters.
He said the walk became bigger than they had planned, since they were joined by many others along the way.
Stabroek News met a group of about 30 persons in the vicinity of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara; they were on their way to the Square of the Revolution where the coalition held a rally last evening.
A grandmother, Veronica Langford, was also one of the four who began the journey in Corriverton, East Berbice. The experience for her was very humbling and emotional. She was one of the persons who motivated the other members of the group when they were feeling exhausted.
