Dear Editor,
As my Bajan wife and I watched the pieces of video footage I recorded from the 46th Republic anniversary celebrations, we talked of the nostalgic events of the day. Then after a brief silence she mused, “I wonder how the PPP feels looking at this”. To say that I did not consider that thought several times over the course of the last few weeks would be less than the truth. However, I would not have voiced it because my wife, though she has lived in Guyana for more than 6 years, is not interested in politics. I knew (or so I think) what happened in my wife’s head that caused her to verbalize her thoughts on the night of the 23rd of February, 2016.
I first brought my wife to Guyana in 1988. We returned in 1989 to get married. In 2011 my wife returned to what she claims is a “different Guyana”. She says that when she first came to Guyana in late ʼ90s, Guyana was clean and the people were more happy and mannerly. She said the country she saw when she returned in 2011 was nasty and the people were not as friendly and they drove violently. (She drove in Barbados and the USA but refuses to drive here.) So when she voiced the other night that she wondered what the PPP must be feeling, I am sure it was because of the culmination of the positive things that have been happening in Guyana over the last few months.
I must admit that over the last 5 years it has been no small task trying to convince my wife that Guyana will get better. But even as I verbalized those words, a modicum of doubt tickled my conscience. My wife spoke often about the filthy condition of the country and the accompanying blame-game, the petty kind of politics, the void of proper customer service, etc. They had all amounted to too much drama for her. Living in Christ Church, Barbados, Maraca Valley, Trinidad, and then South Bend, Indiana, were contrasting realities when compared with Guyana. Those places were clean, the people drove with care and the rule of law was in effect. So when I said, “Guyana will get better,” she would spontaneously reply, “Let’s leave and return when it gets better”.
The truth is I always wanted my wife to want to live in Guyana, because after 24 years away from home, I want to live here. I have spent two decades away from Guyana educating myself and working. Now I want to stay here and give back to my country. To, as it were, dedicate my energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana. So when I sensed her reluctance about wanting to remain here because of the Guyanese reality, I was always perturbed. However, with her outspoken, incredulous, comment on the night of our 46th republic anniversary, I felt a sense of hope. I heard in her question a comparison of the two Guyanas that she had become accustomed to. And she seems to love this new one, like she loved the one in the late ʼ90s. I heard in her musings the realization that Guyana can become better; maybe, it is getting better.
So I am now somewhat hopeful. We have not yet spoken about what she thinks of all that is happening in Guyana these days. I am still afraid that she might not quite be satisfied and might want us to leave. What I know is that that huge flag, hoisted in that evening wind, coupled with the massive clean-up campaign, with the equally saturated burst of nationalistic pride (Bajans are a very proud people), my wife is beginning to like Guyana, again.
So pray with me as I muster the courage in the coming days to have this much needed conversation with her. For indeed, if she decides to stay in Guyana, I would be a much less uneasy young man. And more so, I will be able to unequivocally focus my attention and energies on working to help move Guyana forward, as we become, again, the envy and pride of the Caribbean.
Yours faithfully,
Wendell Jeffrey, Pastor
Independent Candidate
Wortmanville/Work-en-Rust
District #8
