In this season of Guyana, we are wounded by idiocy and frequent dishonesty. The insults to our intelligence are too many. The Guyanese people are being led like a herd of cattle guided by those who know not their left or right, leaving the cattle to stray in every direction and at risk of being eaten by wolves. These are the times in Guyana. We are constantly faced with dilemmas and sometimes it seems like it is only a minority that has eyes to see and ears to hear.
In this season of Guyana, the bed for revered criminals is warm. The worship of the immoral and corrupt is rife. Where evil seems good and good seems evil like the Earth rotating from east to west. We can testify about our people – the ones whose actions and words seem like their brains are in the process of decay before their bodies are cold. We have seen our people claiming to stand for everything principled, but who really are empty vessels standing for nothing but the unprincipled.
In this season of Guyana, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Mae Thomas was on her way to China and in transit in the United States, when she was searched, had her phone confiscated and her visa revoked, and leaders of this country have voiced that it was nothing unusual. When we are wounded by frequent dishonesty, we are sometimes so bewildered that we must question our sanity.
What was the reason for the seizure of the phone and revocation of the visa when this is a most senior civil servant? There was a statement to clear the air, but it certainly did not put most of the people’s minds at ease as it appeared to be another case of insulting our intelligence.
In this season of Guyana, with local government elections approaching, there are allegations of nominators’ signatures being forged. There are even a few allegations about the dead reaching from the grave and signing nomination forms and about people even reaching across the sea and signing. But perhaps we Guyanese are magicians or endowed with the power of the gods we serve – if we can be resurrected at the right time for a specific purpose. One such accusation about a dead woman appearing to have signed caused Vice President Jagdeo to apologize to the wounded family who took to Facebook to vent their frustrations about their dead mother’s signature being forged.
In this season of Guyana, names like Lowenfield, Mingo and Myers have been sullied in a report on the commission of enquiry into the 2020 elections.
“There were `shockingly brazen attempts’ by the then hierarchy of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to derail and corrupt the statutorily prescribed procedure for counting and ascertaining and tabulation of votes of the March 2 elections, for `the purpose of stealing the election’” according to the report.
In this season of Guyana, the fingers of politicians and their supporters continue to point in the direction of their opponents when their sins are exposed while the people decide which poison to drink. We are slowly diminishing our value as a nation yet the hopes and dreams of some are all in oil which is contributing to our fast decline.
Earlier this week another oil discovery was announced, and a pin could be heard dropping where most of the people stood – we can assume that those who celebrated were the ones at the oil companies reaping the sweet who from all indications have ‘caught a pacu and are busting its back’.
Remember the excitement when the first oil discovery was made? Remember the pride when there was first oil? Look at us now – while a small percentage benefit from oil, Guyana being an oil producing nation has contributed to further impoverishing the poor.
In this season of Guyana, those desperate for relevance believe that Guyana becoming more Americaniz-ed is a sign of progress. And not more Americanized in ways that will improve our living experiences – like no frequent blackouts, our water never being cut off, the majority voting on issues and not race or where the soup falls, not driving into potholes, Georgetown not being flooded after half an hour of heavy rainfall and other factors that make a country work. But those desperate for relevance are excited about fast food chains like Starbucks being here now – eager to drink what some deem as overpriced coffee while they display on social media like Little Dubai is a reality and not in the imagination of the deluded. I do not mind the opening of businesses and creating employment, but the coming of a fast-food joint to Guyana for me is not a sign of progress for us developing as a people. Signs of progress for us will be when the people as a collective realize our worth. It is when we realize that we can be self-sufficient, promote ourselves and create our own brands. It is when we will faster support our local businesses than run to join a line for what our former and present colonizers have created. It is when we as a people realize that we do not need foreigners or foreign brands to legitimize Guyana as a country progressing.
Progress will happen when the people’s mindsets are changed. When the widespread idiocy ceases. When no one falls for the frequent dishonesty. When we hold our leaders accountable and not kiss the feet of unworthy men. When the known free criminals pay for their crimes and people are not afraid to speak. It will be progress when every Guyanese is paid a living wage, and some will not have to turn to crime. When the oil truly belongs to the Guyanese people and when we the people realize our power.
In this season of Guyana, a week does not pass without unfortunate events like accidents and murders. The darkness consumes the population while some pretend to bask in light pretending that all is well in Guyana. The moral decay is rampant. It haunts us in our dreams and follows us in the light of day. Many of us are tired, we have lost the fight in us and all we do is sigh, ignore, hope for a better day and repeat.
