It is easy to criticize those who colour the streets, waving placards and chanting. It is not always those immersed in vice and corruption that are cursed in this country. Some people have never stood for any cause intended to result in the improvement of the lives of their compatriots; even if it meant silently supporting them. Here we see that standing and sounding our voices is often met with opposition, even from those who are also oppressed. It is often met with threats, persecution, and even death in times past.
Empathy cannot be bought. People can feign solidarity. Opportunists will always infiltrate the movements, but once the voices of the genuine are loud, their intentions are pure, and their demands are fair, the demonstrations will never cease until what is permanent and sure for all in this world is justice and equality. We may not see that day in our lifetime.
When peaceful protests are met with opposition, it exposes the drought of understanding and compassion. Empaths seem quite rare here. Were they dominating our spaces, our society would surely be a better place.
It is easy to curse protesters. The empty ones will continue to display the depths of their hollowness. We realize that many citizens on this earth are operating on the lowest vibrations. If they are open to elevating to deeper levels of consciousness, there is hope.
It is easy to dismiss people’s human rights when they demand what is equal and fair. Some seem to forget what protests have accomplished on this journey of harmonizing and balancing the earth. We can stand firm and be proud in who we are; we are physically free and free to free ourselves from mental bondage partly because of the sacrifices made through protests.
Would we wake our ancestors who fought for us to be free and call them ‘hungry belly dawgs’? Would we wish for them to be beaten, shot or killed?
Until justice and equality are the pillars on which the world stands, protests will be necessary. Let us stop calling peaceful protests illegal. What should be illegal is disregarding the rights of other human beings by upholding systems that feed oppression and delay progress. What should be illegal are the reckless ones who make threats but are regarded as heroes.
It is easy to call our citizens who choose to engage in protests vile names like ‘hungry belly dawgs’. The actions and reactions of some people when sections of Guyanese are standing for their rights, does not surprise me. I recognize that many Guyanese do not care unless an issue directly affects them.
We would imagine that since the plight of nurses could affect us all, we all would be in solidarity with them since we are all flesh and blood and the need for medical care could be regarded as imminent. One might not have a disease but accidents and unfortunate events can happen at any time. Especially in a time such as COVID-19 when sickness and death are all around us, we would imagine that all Guyanese would stand with our nurses. Stand because what they are demanding are decent wages. Stand because what they are demanding are fair risk allowances in this time of COVID-19. The fact that they must demand that there are adequate supplies of Personal Protective Equipment exposes how unprepared and unconcerned we are about the wellbeing of our nurses.
Our nurses have been facing the brunt of COVID-19. Every day they must look in the faces of the sick and make announcements about the persons who have died. When it could be you or your loved ones lying in a hospital bed gasping for breath and begging nurses for help, how could you curse them? We must not wait until we are in danger of death to respect medical professionals. Are we to assume that those who choose to curse our nurses and who wish for harm to come to them are immortal? Are we to assume that even if they are not immortal that they would never become sick/ Are we to assume that at no time they will lie in a hospital bed, begging their gods to spare their lives while hanging on the hope in the eyes of the nurses?
The nurses did not block roads, start fires, burn or stone vehicles or rob the innocent. They have been standing peacefully demanding a smidgen of what they deserve. We know that most Guyanese are underpaid. There are nurses being paid less than US$500 a month. We know generally that the skills and talents of a few are given the respect and compensation it deserves in this country while the majority wait. We know that the cycle of protests should have ended a long time ago; that the environment should have long existed where all Guyanese could earn living wages instead of their lives being enveloped in struggle. The time has long passed for essential workers like nurses to be treated with the dignity.
It is laughable and sad that some have also called for the dismissal of nurses and possibly replacing them with foreigners. We do not pay our nurses the wages they deserve, yet we believe that we could afford to pay foreign nurses to come here to work? Common sense is not so common with many of our citizens.
What might not affect you today, might be at your doorsteps tomorrow. We should not dismiss the struggles of our countrymen and women because we believe it is not our fight and because we believe it will not affect us. We must continue working towards a system where not only our nurses are fairly compensated, but all who serve in this land to ensure that we continue to make progress as a nation. Many Guyanese left Guyana to seek greener pastures. Many stay because of the love of this land. We continue to hang on to hope.
