Dear Editor,
When I repeat my national pledge, which I do often to myself, I am reminded that it begins thus: ‘I pledge myself to honour always the flag of Guyana and to be loyal to my country’. Editor, in this regard, my loyalty is to my country, not to a political party, or some partisan, ideological philosophy, and worse yet, not to some egotistical individual. So when I write or speak, I do so with the interest of Guyana at heart.
However, not without fail, every time one of my letters is published, some political soup-drinker, or some brainwashed ideological stooge on either side of the political divide, finds it appropriate to shift from the issues I address, to attacking me personally. Now I do not mind the attacks, except that those who level such inconsistent, politically biased garbage often do so from the comfort of an alias or some pseudonym, or some otherwise fake name. If these political neophytes want to challenge me on the objectivity of my letters, why do they not address me using their real identity? I know the answer. They are afraid because the depth of their cronyism and their lack of patriotic substance would shame them.
One of the many of problems that Guyana has is our lack of objectivity. If I am a PPP supporter then I must condone all the unpatriotic and racist drivel coming out of Freedom House. And if I am PNC (the coalition is in tatters), I must agree with all the lies and mismanagement emanating from the Ministry of the Presidency. Guyanese have always been afraid to speak their minds. From Walter Rodney, to Ronald Waddell, to Crum-Ewing, to Freddie Kissoon, the supporters of the powers-that-be have always been able to drive morbid fear into logical, political dissenters. They have also been able to force many of their political opponents out of this country or into virtual obscurity. Guyanese live in fear of their leaders, that’s why they are afraid to speak out. And that’s why we are a failed country 50 years after independence.
I am amazed at the number of people who tell me that I must stop writing ‘certain’ kinds of letters because “they will come after you”. Folks who love me are afraid that “they” will bug my phone or otherwise harm me. It is not that many people do not agree with what I write. It is just that over the last 40 years, Guyanese have had tangible proof of horrifying situations, which have driven them into silence.
Our lack of objectivity, the perpetual fearmongering and the fright of brutal, physical harm, have served to keep the PNC in power for 28 years and the PPP in power for another 23 years.
God forbid if we continue to allow those old tactics to bug us down for another 50 years! Someone once noted, “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die”. If those who rule by fear know that they could oppress a nation by the use of fear, they will be tempted to arouse fear in the citizenry. However, those of us who understand our calling in this life need to step up to the plate.
I have taken a position, with the support of my family, that I will not align myself to any political party that does not allow me to be true to my conscience. Neither will I be silenced because of fear. In Guyana, one can only work for a political party if one agrees to agree to all the party’s doings. There is no room for public objectivity. If you object, you must do so in secret, or risk your job. That’s why I like the North American kind of politics where a Democrat could vote for a Republican bill, or support a Republican agenda, and vice versa. I like the kind of politics that allows the supporter of a party to publicly disagree with any policy of that party.
This notion that anything that Burnham or Jagdeo or Granger does is right and must be condoned, does not sit well with me. And it will not work for the development of this country. I passed by the passport office the other day. It was 6.45 am and the line stretched from in front of the office all the way around and deep into Barrack Street. Those people, hundreds of them, plus the thousands more before and after them, are planning on fleeing from Guyana. They are heading to developed countries where people are allowed to speak truth to power and hold their elected officials accountable.
Editor, with or without oil, Guyana will never move from this backward, banana republic that it is, unless the elected leaders are constantly reminded that they are accountable to the people who elect them. Those leaders must therefore publicly call off their hound dogs, who use the cover of night, or those who use their cyber pseudonyms and engage in character assassinations against those of us who choose to do the dirty, patriotic, job that needs to be done.
Again, my name is Wendell Jeffrey. What’s yours?
Yours faithfully,
Pastor Wendell Jeffrey
