Once crooks, now paragons of virtue
I’m hoping that many readers, besides my weekly “regulars”, will tarry long enough today to accompany me through these few paragraphs of national historical nostalgia. And regret!
Nostalgia frequently refers to “a wistful longing”, the memories of and for good things of the past. My nostalgia of my 1950’s, sixties, seventies, evokes regret. Regrets over national inertia.
So I was filled with impatience, indifference, even some mild disdain – instead of hope – when I read of Dr Ashni Singh promising the AmCham meeting last Friday “A truly modern Guyana.” (Please recall that last Friday I welcomed the return of Dr Ashni to the PPP Cabinet because I love his mastery of English – Ho ho!)
Here again is his well-articulated promise: “We aim to build in the shortest possible time, a truly modern Guyana, with world-class infrastructure that improves connectivity and unlocks the vast, potential of our economy and of the Guyanese people.”
Ho-hum, I sighed, as these sentiments in Parliament, in campaign manifestoes, at project launches and anniversary or national events – were grounded into my/our senses. For decades! The well-spoken Dr Ashni once again promised the “availability of a highly-skilled workforce; State institutions that encourage and facilitate… the operations of the Private Sector; reducing bureaucracy, removing bottlenecks to doing business…”
Ho-hum again “critics” reminded that all this was not achieved during Dr Singh’s Party’s 1992-2015 twenty-three year tenure.
Since the 100 plus-day-old President was sworn in on August 02, I dared to hope once again, that we would experience a mild thrill of reasonable expectation of cohesive national development. I also dare to wait another three/four months to detect progress on some very grand developmental plans announced. After all, Dr Singh has encountered a depleted Treasury, a floundering COVID-fatigued economy and, still, the challenges of crime and political harassment.
As I wait with fellow, expectation-weary over-seventies to over-nineties, bear with me while I recount, in bullet-point style the sorry historical saga of a resource-rich land forever plagued by the politics of division, delay- and spite!
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Third world history: How failed leaders led
● So far we Guyanese accept that the first people arrived here from Mongolia via the Bering Strait Crossing into the Southern Continent.
● Spanish, Dutch, French, searching for territories to add to their European empires arrived and battled for Supremacy. The English prevailed.
● Atrocities attended their African slaves up to 1838.
● Indian labourers were brought; soon their numbers and culture caused Afro- Indo frictions – promoted openly/subtly by the European masters. (Why have knowledgeable, well-educated descendants perpetuated that “division” long after colonial masters departed? (Why have even present generations allowed European historical cleavages?)
● 1834-1838: An interesting early “Third World” period here, as “apprenticeship” preceded “full freedom”(1838) and ex-slaves land-owning village movement sabotaged.
● As slave descendants turned to professions and uniforms, Indo-descendants kept to the land before diversified pursuits and eventual economic advantage.
● Stevedore HN Critchlow rose to prominence spearheading organized labour and entering “Parliament”.
● He was to be followed by Cheddi Jagan who later allowed British-trained attorney Forbes Burnham to chair the new mass movement People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
● After an aborted political/governmental triumph in 1953, the Jagan-Burnham rift perpetuated what the “Whiteman” started. Their populist charismatic leadership was convoluted into race-based politics for “eternity.” Their respective ethnic loyalists accepted their “leadership.’ Or left!
The Americans and British helped to remove Jagan’s PPP in 1964 and Burnham – once a visionary, then a tainted autocrat who really never won an election on his own – dominated as “autocrat for life” – a shortened 62-year-old life ’til 1985. I truncate at this point.
Frankly speaking, even though suspicious of Jagan’s Communist/Socialist Russian/Cuban ambitions I blame Burnham and the PNC I once embraced for Guyana’s political set-backs, economic standstill and backwardness as I watched regional resource-deficit societies surpass our rich beautiful blighted Guyana. I can debate my position when invited.
As I experienced the five-year political aberration that the Brigadier- President became, I also cringed at the current incarnation of the once-regarded PNC.
Oil and gas have now joined our other resources. The world is so structured that foreigners head the companies that extract oil, gold, bauxite as others laugh out loud at contracts and agreements which brilliant fools negotiated. Should I now trust Ashni Singh’s repetitive promise? What say you?
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Reformed bandits, “beasts-to-priests”
After Americans and Europeans discovered the lucrative – but debilitating – value of South America’s Coca plants, they utilized that innocent Amerindian enhancer to make millions world-wide.
A Colombian cartel once offered the government to pay off Colombia’s national debit! Thousands of Coca farmers thank the cartel owners for life-sustaining employment. Evil trumps poverty.
In the Atlantic Island of Sealand the owner of the territory’s two radio stations is a former drug lord. He now runs a popular charity. The island’s Police Chief has a son who is known for trafficking all types of narcotics. He seems immune from prosecution. Even investigation. The Police Chief’s brother is a popular Christian priest.
The island’s leading contractor for numerous infrastructural projects once served prison time for sexual assault. He too runs a charity. These one-time crooks now preach “redemption”, “spiritual revival”, the poor listen to them gladly as they assist the islanders during their exclusive control of national resources. The islanders regard them as “paragons of virtue”. They say people can change!
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Ponder please…
● 1) Alex Trebek – master of many languages. His shows remain as he RIP
● 2) Coming next week: Kwayana and Granger- most useful
’ Til next week.
