Dear Editor
I usually enjoy reading editorials mainly because they are quite informative and sometimes analytical. Of great interest were the editorials on Arrival Day. I learnt a lot about our history as a nation. Perusing further for more subjects of interest, I came across an editorial in Guyana Chronicle titled “Finding the right balance”. Noticing that it was about development and climate change, I continued reading with much anticipation. Two things caught my attention.
Firstly, allow me to quote the following phrase from the GC editorial: “More importantly, the government’s job is to fit Guyana within the new global framework on how development and progress happen…” As far as I know, neoliberal ideology and neoliberal economics are still the dominant frameworks that rule the world. There is no other “new global framework” in which Guyana must “fit” itself. If anything, as mentioned in the editorial, Guyana is in a unique position to take the lead among developing countries, especially CARICOM, to SHAPE a new global framework – a framework that would benefit small states in particular and protect them from the devastating effects of climate change.
Secondly, the following rhetorical question was posed by the editor: “What good…is a company or country or community that declares profits and black ink instead of red at the end of the financial year, if the pristine planet suffers irreparable damage from that profitable operation?” Allow me, dear Editor, to pose the same question in another way: What good is a company, country or community that declares profits and black ink instead of red at the end of the financial year, if THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTENDED TO BENEFIT FROM THE PROFITS ARE DYING? We are so few to begin with, why are we taking such huge risks at the expense of lives?
Since the editorial focused on global frameworks, maybe it is time decision makers pay attention as to what decisions are being taken globally with respect to the COVID-19. Take a close look at those who did not heed the early warning signs. Do three and four lives a day justify the profit margins of a few? It is my fervent hope that those who read this letter will join me in calling for a total LOCKDOWN NOW.
Sincerely,
A. Adler
