Dear Editor,
I would like to comment on your article in Saturday’s, July 27th Stabroek News titled `Advanced City Surveillance System Unveiled’.
I make a separation between a business or home owner installing CCTV cameras for personal protection and the State installing CCTV surveillance cameras on the streets of Georgetown. Your article reports the Minister of Public Telecommunications, the Hon Cathy Hughes as stating that CCTV cameras have been installed to provide “prompt public security services”. In layman’s language, the Hon Minister is stating that for our own good the State is now keeping an eye on us.
In your article the Hon Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, also boasts that this is one of the best developments for the country and is exactly what Guyana needs. Clearly he is in agreement with the Hon Cathy Hughes and by extension one can assume that our Government is also in full agreement.
Your article also mentions that the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) has already installed CCTV cameras at 102 intelligent video surveillance sites. These are already up and running and they intend to install additional cameras in Georgetown as well as other areas of Guyana.
Guyanese should now be aware that “Big Brother is watching you”. This was eloquently stated by George Orwell in his controversial novel 1984.
For those not familiar with the novel 1984 I urge you to read it. For good measure you should also read the novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury and Animal Farm, another novel by George Orwell. These novels will inform what our society has come to.
So don’t pick your nose when you’re within range of one of these intelligent video surveillance sites. Keep it in mind, like it or not, “Big Brother is watching you”.
Yours faithfully,
Edward Gonsalves
