Dear Editor,
Guyanese are not a disciplined people. It is well understood that there had to be a high level of resentment of authority in all post slavery societies – for who would want to work for a family or class of persons that once forced one or one’s parents to work on pain of punishment or even death? That said, the way Guyanese operate today is not conducive to the accelerated development that is about to mushroom before our very eyes in real time.
Despite higher levels of criminal violence in both Jamaica and Trinidad, the people of both of those nations are more courteous and more orderly in their day-to-day interactions with each other. I have spent many lengthy periods in Jamaica, amounting to many years all told over some 20 years, and I have concluded that Jamaica’s criminal violence has its roots in the stark wealth imbalance there coupled with its high population density (644.2 persons per square mile). Trinidad & Tobago likewise has a high population density (686.4 persons per square mile) and has experienced at least 6 decades of sustained prosperity fueled by its oil. The wealth imbalance existing in Trinidad & Tobago is not as obvious as Jamaica’s because of the generally higher prosperity level, but in reality it is probably even greater there – generating arguably more individual greed coupled with the power to buy and readiness to accept a contract on another’s life. Guyana for its part is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world with 4 persons per square mile, the same as Surinam and Canada. Only Mongolia, Namibia and Australia have population densities less than 4 persons per square mile.
I suppose Jamaicans and Trinis just had to get along being so ‘cramped’ together. They cultivated habits of courtesy that make daily interactions smoother – like saying “please” without a bullying overtone and “thank you” without an overtone of grudge. Is this because of the impact of tourism? Loud as both Jamaicans and Trinidadians are, you would not see their drivers driving fast in the lane designated for oncoming traffic to try squeeze in front of the line waiting at traffic lights on red! Guyanese are generally indifferent to queues. Guyanese, including government departments, generally see no point in replying to written communications or to fulfilling clear promises to return a phone call or provide an update.
There was a time when Guyanese were required to stand for the playing of the National Anthem in cinemas and at public events generally. People got used to it and did so without any fuss – and National Service had discipline as one of its aims. That was in a time when it was hoped that Guyana could do like China, Cuba or Singapore – but the peoples of those countries are culturally disciplined and do not enjoy the freedom to opt for indiscipline as do those who live in countries that mirror the outlook of Western democracies. There came a time also when Guyanese saw good reason to emigrate in droves – a brain drain that continues to this day – and so went our plumbers, masons, and UG and GTI graduates to other countries. With nobody to pass on trade skills to apprentices, Guyana had to make do with contractors who were merely enterprising chancers who never had inculcated in them any tenets of professional discipline. These guys have no governing bodies to account to – our attorneys are not accountable to any disciplinary body either – so routinely do substandard work without regard to building regulations or any other material considerations such as accurately estimating required materials and building to agreed completion deadlines.
Unauthorized projects such as building extensions, the occupation of government reserve land close to roadways and business enterprises emanating loud noise or toxic odours, generate problems from time to time – even where the law is crystal clear! Surely it is problematic to tell someone who opened a sports bar 10 years ago without any official (or indeed citizens’) objections that suddenly his business is unlawful. In a country soon to be awash with oil money and where one can already do just about anything so long as one can pay to do it, we are but a short step away from becoming much worse than both Jamaica and Trinidad where criminal violence is concerned. If, God forbid, that turns out to be what our imminent prosperity has in store for us, it would seem that it is not in our national psyche to smoothen the stresses of daily living by treating each other with common courtesy.
It should become a priority of our education system to teach our schoolchildren the practical benefits of being courteous. That might lead future generations to be better disposed to acquiring a disciplined outlook that will have a positive knock-on effect on indigenous Guyanese participation in the infrastructural and progressive development of our country. As things now stand, Guyana will have to rely very heavily on skilled and disciplined foreign workers and the growing cohort of naturalized Guyanese who already possess those attributes. It is now time to align with our President and encourage diaspora Guyanese to return home, eschewing Freddie Kissoon’s oft-stated parochial views in that regard. There is risk in business and there is risk in moving your life from one country to another – but having to deal with mindless discourtesy whilst sharing one’s skills and investing one’s finances, whether grand or moderate, ought not to be a factor that Guyanese desirous of returning home should have to consider in making their risk assessment.
I wish all my countrymen and countrywomen a happy, productive and prosperous 2021. Those who already know better should make the effort to be courteous to others – even without expecting the same courtesy in return. The discipline required for such a progressive outlook would be good preparation for us all. We need to be ready to embark upon the road to developing a collective national mindset that would be enable Guyanese to actively participate in, and benefit directly from, the imminent massive development of our richly-blessed country.
Yours faithfully,
Ronald Bostwick
