Dear Editor,
Something has been incrementally transforming the Guyana I once knew. It is not the country I left in the 1960’s. Surely at that time, we had problems. But I recall that we—all races— were, to the core, rational, calm and peace-loving. We were tested and we passed, enduring trying moments when certain forces divided us in furtherance of their own interests. We came to realize that in this complex world our success as a nation begins with our unity. And most important, we, the older and now fading generation, have always placed an immense value on human life.
Today, when I occasionally glean the daily Guyanese newspapers, I am amazed at the frequent stories of some gruesome murder somewhere. These murders transcend race and socio-economic class. Sometimes the perpetrator is an enraged spouse or partner, a competitor, a disinherited family member, or anyone felt wronged, even for the slightest of reasons. Murder, it seems, has now become the most expedient way to resolve disputes and settle grievances. Severing a limb or life appears to be no big deal. It’s “what we do!”
With the recent spate of violence in Berbice, many observers quickly invoked race as a motive. I wouldn’t be that hasty. Spontaneous acts of rage are occurring with more frequency. But let us not conclude it is all race-motivated. The recent incidents in Berbice mirror who we are and what we have become. It’s how we seem to resolve disputes and grievances, real or imaginary. Without sounding too cynically clinical, we have morphed into a different species, bereft of empathy and humanity. What is especially disconcerting now is that certain politicians, who are still seething over their loss at the polls, are exploiting this situation to promote racial division. I specifically call out Mr. Harmon, for whom, age apparently did not bring the usual wisdom.
Our prior president, who was silent and invisible during the recent crass attempt to rig the elections, found his voice when he joined an angry crowd of protestors calling for the release of Mr. Mingo, who was caught red-handed trying to impose an illegal government on the Guyanese people. Imagine this: a former President advocating for a notorious fraudster and supporting lawlessness on the streets! He owes his supporters an apology for leading them to believe that the coalition won the elections. He had them believe that they were cheated.
What happened to principles? Protection of democracy? Love of country? Peace? Honesty?
Mr. Granger and what’s left of the splintered Coalition should join all Guyanese in the quest to get to the bottom of motives of these murders and to seek justice for everyone. Now is not the time to exploit the situation, to point fingers, to stand and yell in the streets with protestors, or to entertain illusions of self-aggrandizement in thinking that we could do better than those at the helm.
So, then, where else do we stand? First, we need in unison to condemn all acts of violence. We need to stop sharing hate messages on social media. We need to block these messages and videos from circulating. We need to ask the print media to reject hate-filled ideas from some of our notorious frequent letter writers. (They know who they are.) We need the government to take an aggressive stand against anyone—anyone—who encourages violence, either by words or actions.
Finally, in all classrooms we urgently need to start campaigns of “dispute resolution” and “respect” for one another. And we need to give the new government a chance to govern. Should they fail, they will also be removed by the ballots.
Yours faithfully,
Dolly Z. Hassan, Ph.D.
Attorney at Law
