I was unmoved by the sound of the fireworks on Tuesday night. I was so uninterested in viewing the spectacle that not even a glance through a window or unlocking the door to let in the night air tempted me. The spirit of Independence evaded me. Like the chilly night air, the chilly reality of dreams for Guyana’s children falling like the sparks from the fireworks and fading into nothingness were heavy on my spirit. I do not care anymore about partaking in painting the beautiful plasters with which we try to conceal our sores. The once youthful innocence and bright eyed and bushy tailed energy have dissipated. Here, where the grass is green and the rainforests are our pride, where majestic falls like the Kaieteur stand and beautiful savannahs calm us, rivers bursting with life and beneath the soil wealth waiting to be discovered, often feels like a desert.
Feel-good songs, poetry, dance and the hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead inspire national pride. We like to applaud and smile when we watch men and women in uniform marching. Like these ceremonies in honour of and celebrating this or that are all that define us. We can beam with pride and adorn ourselves with white, gold, black, red and green, but how far does it take us? We can write greetings and speeches but how much does it unite us? These salves to have us forget for a short while that we are broken and divided and that some of our people are scavengers in their own land are not good enough anymore. We see through the masquerades attempting to convince us that we have arrived at oneness, wealth and abundance for all. Maybe we have seen glimpses. Hope is the common thread in the periods of light and darkness.
I control my thoughts and emotions to avoid being sucked into the abyss of despair, but I see what present day Guyana is. There are tensions trying to disturb my peace, attempts to blot out the light in me, and constant whispers telling me to run from here.
At 55, Guyana’s reality is faith lost in our leaders. Those who have manipulated the people and given them false hope are not the ones who suffer here. Whether they are on the left or right or middle ground, we can use one brush to paint them all. Where arrogance, greed, dishonesty and selfishness exist, the people will continue to suffer. Where you are disconnected because you have forgotten about struggle or have never had to struggle, the despair and desperation will continue. Where the people fight red against yellow and green and vice versa and you stand as one in your oppression, we see that the faces amalgamate into one on this animal farm.
There are two Guyanas. One that is on her knees carrying the majority in hopes that they do not abandon her as thousands of others have and another Guyana standing tall and illuminated while becoming inhabited by the faces of children she does not recognize. That Guyana is for the wealthy and those with the opportunities and access to become wealthy. A Guyana where foreign companies can rent acres of her soil for pennies. A Guyana where trespassers are bold enough to build without permits and disrespect our citizens because they believe there are no laws here; a Guyana where there are allegations about agreements, we the people will never see and debts we do not know that we owe. The colonizers from which we are celebrating our Independence are still smiling, laughing and adorning themselves with our treasures while digging our graves. Have we ever walked without their shadows?
What is there to celebrate at 55?
The other Guyana is where most of us reside. It is a place where young people cannot envision a future here. There are university graduates being offered salaries of less than five hundred US dollars a month and some who get no offers. Some become lucky and others leave. It is a Guyana where the elderly cannot enjoy a pension to cover all their basic needs but monthly, they wait eagerly at the post offices. It is a place where you give half the Guyanese households a twenty-five thousand COVID relief and leave the other half with pink slips. It is a place where the ordinary man sits in blackout watching the tap drip because once again there are emergency repairs or maintenance. This Guyana where we wait for salaries to be deposited in our bank accounts only to be spent in a few days, leaving us waiting for the next pay day. It is a place where some never move forward because they have been conditioned to remain in poverty.
This is a Guyana where the ordinary man’s income must be supplemented by remittances from overseas-based relatives. This Guyana is where many of the poor can no longer afford rent. It is where many citizens cannot afford to buy or build their own homes. It is where we are watching food prices rise in horror, asking how we will feed our children next month.
This is the Guyana where you will work for decades and still need to work in your old age. It is where some can be fired at any time without just cause. It is where your political allegiance can determine whether you fly or sink.
Here is where they believe you deserve a pittance for your talent. Here, instead of developing sports and the creative industries, they will host sporadic tournaments and talent shows and think that is development. This Guyana is where we have an education system that leaves too many children behind because the system does not cater to their abilities or the development of their talents.
What land is this when there are mothers with babies in arms begging on the streets; elderly men and women are also begging. Young men and women are begging. Children who should be at home under the protection of their parents or guardians are begging. Is this oil rich 55-year-old Guyana?
I know there are hardships even in the wealthiest countries, but mismanagement of our resources, the rape of our country and inequality are reasons why many of our people are living in poverty. It is also the people’s unwillingness to learn and change. The majority’s Guyana is in a state of stagnation where we accept the mediocre and our only form of rebellion is to complain. It is unacceptable that after 55 years of Independence this is where we are.
The only hope is that there is still time for the dreams and wellbeing of the Guyanese people to be put first.
