Parents burying their children
As one’s life on earth – even, yes even in big beautiful blighted Guyana – passes seventy and eighty, one makes time to reflect, wonder, lament and hope. I suspect that most patriots’ dreams, even reasonable expectations, remain unfulfilled as seventy – and eighty–plus folks end in grave or crematorium. What’s all this about? My own national dreams and lament. Just before these great floods hit I “enjoyed” or endured cynical humour. Because just as the government’s national Independence anniversary flag–raising ended PNC dudes posted pics and videos of May 26, 1966 featuring their Founder-Leader as well as shots of flag-raising (2019-2020?) A bow to separation or division depicted there? Their own was better, bigger! Not that 2021 Covid affected Kingston limited edition. Even the national occasion was politicized, perhaps hurting the feelings of talented young participants. Were invitations limited? Denied?
Now sure, it’s government‘s duty, responsibility to lead the recovery programme regarding this very national flood disaster. But could not, cannot political parties collaborate during national tragedy affecting all party comrades and supporters?
We do need sustained constructive opposition but even in such a disaster must it be primarily oppose? Depose? Over decades no government implemented revolutionary, effective drainage projects. Even so these floods were fuelled by both high tides and high continuous rainfall. From the capital to Parika to Bartica, Black Bush, Kwakwani, Linden and Mahaica, we must all swim or sink together. This has out- rivalled 2005.
Is the government really discriminating with the distribution of “flood relief”? That would be dastardly! But I hope it is not just political strategies to spread rumours for political points amidst suffering. Col Craig’s CDC is pivotal to relief recovery. Perhaps not every single household or individual can all benefit immediately.
All I, past seventy and losing hope, can “hope” for is more inter-party co-operation now. I know of and see the photo opportunities with hamper sharing. I await current and long-term sustained flood prevention strategies and wonder about the dozen smaller parties which sought votes last year March. Nothing to offer now?
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Hail this D’Urban Park story
Even as I personalize the first part of this right here, I begin with this factual quip: the Granger government apparently but quietly appointed a high-profile Director of Public Parks (DPP) ho-ho-ho. He – apparently – administered/managed a few parks – National Park, Phoenix Park, Longden Park, Independence Park, Sophia Bus Park. But this brief story is about D’Urban Park.
Lethem, Murray, Carmichael-Smyth, Longden, Light, Bentinck, Hincks, Irving, Sendall, Denham, Northcote were just a few British Governors who had streets, places and structures named after them. Sir Benjamin D’Urban, being a pivotal administrator when this place British Guiana had both a street and park bear his imperious name.
Now as an Alberttown child and lad I got away from grandmother and roamed D’Urban Park “race course” on race days. My friends and I looked on at betting/gambling in the middle; peaked at horses in the paddocks but could not enter the elite Grand Stand. Years after I took a precocious little daughter to enjoy the primitive tape-starts on Hadfield Street. Then suddenly, the race course disappeared. Homestretch even became an actual highway.
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Evolution, despair, hope, what now?
After the Burnham-Hoyte sojourns, it could be credible that Georgetown was no favourite place for the PPP comrades. Under their 23 years of authority D’Urban Park became a literal eye-sore of an urban jungle whilst no nearby recreation ground enticed poor youth.
Millions were wasted when a contractor poured tons upon tons of sand there. Enter the Brigadier Granger! On TV channel 6 two days before Election Day 2015, a caller beseeched him too “clear up that Georgetown jungle”.
Now I heard Janet Jagan suggest building multiple government ministries on D’Urban Park though I was recently admonished that it was Forbes B. who first planned that, so he could hop over from his Vlissengen Road “Residence”. Then the Central Fire Station was slated for the park. Nothing happened until President D.A. Granger.
Convinced that both the National Park and Stadium were too “small” for his planned mega-events, Granger cleared the jungle and had a vast-capacity national venue created in time for May 2016 – 50 years after Independence.
Re-enter the PPP to the corridors and parks of power. They are upset that no conclusive budget of expenditure for Granger’s Jubilee D’Urban Park was unearthed. It must be close to a billion?
But should our money be wasted now? Never! Already there is some obvious neglect to the arch and park. City Council is helpless. D’Urban Park is still a state resource.
I never liked the wooden stands. Mr F.B.Vieira delighted me briefly showing me actual plans which the Chinese had for a D’Urban Park state-of-the-art stadium. Those plans were shelved. Lost!
Let’s support any project to sustain D’Urban Park, a piece of Georgetown’s super real estate.
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Parents now bury their children
What a social unwanted phenomenon these days! Guyanese young people (16 to 35) are dying via traffic accidents, assaults with intent, in mine pits, shooting and stabbings – fatalities over nonsense.
Many don’t complete 35 years. Their mothers bore them; then they leave this earth early. They don’t help to bury their parents. Parents are burying them. Did not their short lives worth anything?
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Ponder well…
● 1) Conflicts, dilemmas – real or manufactured: in the police force, GWI, PAC, GECOM, petitions/courts – whew!
● 1.b) a most heart-rending aspect of these killer floods was the suffering and death of our four-legged animals. And the attitudes of some two-legged brutes towards that.
● 2) Farewell Daphne, Mondale and – with unbelievable saddenness – my next door neighbour – Faye Joseph.
● 3) Never thought I’d live to see: Britain’s Finance Minister/Chancellor of the Exchequer, is descended from India! (Check Biden’s and Trudeau’s cabinets too…)
`Til next week
