Dear Editor,
I’ll be grateful if this letter to the public and whomever it reaches can be used to shine a light on yet another forgotten small community named Blankenburg on the West Coast of Demerara. Rice farming and production is the only direct income for families. A lot of persons don’t know or probably haven’t heard of Blankenburg or issues affecting residents of this area, including floods, damaged streets, and drainage. These are major problems affecting residents here but I’m not writing this letter to talk about those issues but of our young people. As it is young people are the future of our country but unemployment is the issue affecting us mostly here. A lot of the young people are out of jobs, including myself. Many are not high school graduates or capable of achieving degrees but to better understand, I will share my story.
I am twenty one year’s old, currently unemployed, a situation unchanged for the past 2 years and I am without a degree. I was brought up in a single parent home where my mother struggled to provide for my one sister and myself, working day and night just to send us to school to get an education. Thanks to her and my elderly grandmother I achieved success in my secondary education and successfully gained seven (7) subjects including Math and English. Like every young person I too had and have big dreams and ambition – I’ve always wanted to just get a decent job in the business sector but my biggest dream was working for the Ministry of Social Services.
It was always a dream of mine to work with women, children and issues relating to domestic violence, suicide, rape etc., I’ve always wanted to be a part of other people’s lives to speak with those who are living in fear and suffering in silence. There are a lot of people living in fear in our country and scared to open up about their situation. A lot of our women suffer daily from domestic violence and are afraid to say anything. Suicide becomes a choice because our youths think they have no one to trust and open up to about their depression and it is my wish to help our people. It’s a job that will make me happy and earning a decent salary will help my family. I know I will never repay my mother or grandmother for what they’ve been through to make me the person I am today but the least I could do is to see them happy and make them proud. But as I grew older I realized not everything will be the way we want it.
Sometimes I become discouraged but then I would remember these words my mom would always say “don’t lose hope” and “keep praying and have faith in yourself, keep trying there will be a better day”. So I kept writing applications and went for a few interviews but all I would get is “we’re going to call you back”. It was always one disappointment after another. So I decided to join the PYO in our community and the CDC with the hope that I’ll benefit in some way. I started volunteering for a while with hopes someone will offer me an opportunity. Discovering my mom is now battling cancer was yet another problem that drained me emotionally and I became depressed. I am now really frustrated and stressed out to the point that I don’t know what else is there to do to better my situation. No jobs, no income and my life is becoming more difficult to manage. 2020 went by and I prayed that the new Government would give me some hope, or at the very least, look into our situation here in this small community. 2021 is here, I said to myself I’ve got to still keep trying…I haven’t given up though my situation hasn’t changed for the better.
But seeing young teenagers getting involved in crimes because of joblessness is what motivated me more to write this letter. There are intelligent people within Blankenburg who should be given opportunities regardless of race and ethnicity; and not because of us being poor – everyone deserves a chance – we’re human and that shouldn’t change who we are as Guyanese. All we need is a fair chance to prove ourselves but first we need jobs. And with that, someday I do hope to open a centre within my community for the betterment of our young teens, children and women dealing with domestic violence. Once I’m given the chance and support to fulfill my dreams, I would like to extend similar opportunities for our people across Guyana.
Sincerely,
Soudia Alli
