Over the years, I have put my head down, as we say in Guyana, in several other countries. These include Canada, Cayman, the USA, England, and virtually every country in the Caribbean from St. Maarten in the north to Grenada in the south, and even to places like Tobago, Montserrat, Bequia, Saba, and tiny Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Among the many consequences of those journeys is that I developed friendships in several of those places, and now, some 65 years later, I am frequently in touch with those persons, mostly by email, almost daily. Just today I wrote to one of them, a Guyanese living in the US, responding to her “how are you doing” comment with the following:
“SOME DAYS: I know you follow the news about Guyana, political and otherwise, but your “how you doing” question set me thinking about a remark I often heard from my mother Zepherina Martins, a lynchpin of my life, for her love and her angelic nature and her wisdom, who would frequently react about one anxiety or another coming our way in Guyana of the 1950s with something like, “Some days, life does come along with one thing or another to try your patience, and you have to brace yourself and pray to God to get through it.” My mother died in Toronto many years ago but in the 10 years I have been living again in Guyana, and particularly in recent months, I recall her comment as applying to Guyana now.
“The current turmoil here over our national elections process is a prime example, as is the alarm over the threat of the Coronavirus, and in the background of all that, the spectre of climate change and rising seas ahead for us. In the national elections there appears to be some confusion among the various elements in play as we choose the next government, leaving us unable to complete the counting of the votes in a manner to satisfy the various parties. One would think that with the actual ballots in hand, and with several foreign agencies here to observe the process of counting, that this would be easily expedited, but so far, with the voting long completed, GECOM remains unable to declare the winner. Surely, that would stand out as a prime example of something “trying our patience”, but there are others.
“Virtually daily, for example, one is struck by the dilapidated condition of many of our major roadways, particularly in our capital Georgetown, and how long the wait can be for repairs. On the East Coast where I live, surface asphalt is long gone from many of the roads we drive, and while extensive work has recently produced smooth driving now in our residential area of Oleander Gardens, the former potholed state was the norm for over a year, trying drivers’ patience indeed for a long time, not just some days
“In recent days, a prime source of anxiety has been the alarming emergence of the Coronavirus threatening the world, and the consequent change in everyday behaviours here now, requiring all of us not to congregate, to avoid human contact, to wash our hands several times a day, and to take a variety of precautions to avoid being infected, and all of this while not being sure if our ability to test people for the disease is adequate; some days, one would be certain, on other days, not so. In that scenario, we are also seeing the widespread cancelling of international flights (many overseas countries have taken this precaution, and Guyana has followed suit). For the thousands of Guyanese with relatives living abroad, or the ones abroad wishing to come here, there are more difficult times ahead indeed.
“Clearly, apart from the various health difficulties now before us, Guyana will have to deal with massive disruptions to our economy, as workers have to be sent home in the isolation process, and supplies of everyday items (cleaning supplies; toilet paper; sanitizers; etc.) will become, and indeed have already become, an issue. Overall, there is also the significant impact of loss of income where family members have been sent home by employers. The disruptions are world-wide, but for a poor country like Guyana, currently with a flat economy, the consequences are substantial.
“These are indeed difficult times for the world, not just Guyana, with many of us, at home and abroad, feeling overwhelmed by the enormity and complexity of the health issues here, along with our election difficulties, and feeling so, while perhaps not every day, but certainly, as my mother put it, that the circumstances are putting us to the test – some days.”
