Dear Editor,
A strange and worrisome situation experienced in much of human history is where citizens elect or identify leaders by a variety of means – men and women who will determine their destiny.
Citizens sometimes look on helplessly as these men and women placed at the helm of the ship-of-state fail to learn from available lessons of history and experiences of their own societies, just a few years previous to their incumbencies.
There are many known examples such as the Trojan Horse, leaders initiating and conducting wars, which they ought to have known were not winnable.
In Guyana, we have been suffocating during and after Emancipation, before and after Independence because successive Governments used praises and clichés without having the intellectual strength to make a reality of these ideas.
Earlier generations have suffered from the ravages of Apanjhat. Alien forms of Communism, Socialism, Leninism, Marxism, etc. Today, the ugly spectra of racial discrimination is on the horizon. Today, evidence of us being recolonized is there for all to see. The above is ominous and frightening, coupled with oil and Covid.
Our youths need to be involved in helping to salvage the situation and set the ship-of-state on an even keel. Oil is threatening the economic life-blood of Guyana and Covid, the health life-blood of our nation state.
Enough has been said in the case of oil and gas. Some Editorials have done us great service by referring to our many steps of stupidity in our dealing with Oil and Gas.
On Covid, the Ministry responsible must step forward and openly engage those groups and persons who are vaccine hesitant.
Today, I learnt there were seven deaths of persons who did not take the vaccine.
To the vaccine hesitant community, I say science is not in your corner and there are many soothsayers beating war-drums. Covid is real. I have friends who have succumbed.
I say to my friends, respect your rights, but concomitantly, you must also respect your responsibilities, in a matter that is of global intensity and has already consumed many lives.
Every story has two or more sides. Let us talk in a civilized manner.
Last Thursday, the family of a well-known businessman and personal friend of mine called to seek my advice, after noting that the conditions at the Liliendaal Covid Facility were horrible and asked my views as to what they should do.
I am told that the nurses and medical personnel are now suffering from what is called “burn out.”
Guyanese cannot afford a health calamity.
I ask my friends not to curse me but sometimes, they need to take measures in defiance of Government’s mishandling of the situation, so that we can live to fight another day.
Let us be brave, Let us be true to credible scientific evidence.
In this situation, it is unacceptable that the Government should display signs of arrogance and feel that they can disregard the feelings and opinions of sections of our society.
It is a Government that must be magnanimous, it is a Government that should be gracious.
To those in the anti-vax line-up, I say this, there are several fundamental and serious issues that we should link arms to protest. Issues that should prevent the marginalization of sections of our society, issues that are widening the gap between the haves and the haves not.
Last week, I spoke to a young father who came out from prison, and I was trying to guide him to a good life and preach to him about the value of good morals.
After listening, he said “Uncle Hammy, the only thing I can do now, is steal and work drugs”.
If this Government is really interested in the ‘One Guyana,’ they must divest themselves of this ideology and philosophy, which determines that Burnham never did anything that is good and proper, and spend some of that oil revenue to re-introduce National Service.
Thank God, we still have a few men who made National Service a useful institution to save many lives and are still available if requested.
A good Government cannot by dictum curse people.
I conclude with the words of a song written by Billy Pilgrim, “Let us co-operate for Guyana.”
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green
