Dear Editor,
I put a simple, barebones, no-frills idea before the decision makers of the PPP Government. In his surprising absence answering the call to overseas duty of Excellency Ali, I reach to the former president Bharrat Jagdeo, and respectfully bypass the Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips. I recommend that the government declare Monday, December 4th a national holiday, as a part of Guyana’s countermove to the December 3 Venezuelan referendum. I think that a national holiday on the day after Venezuela’s referendum would serve to encapsulate where Guyanese stand in the face of naked aggression, and an even more naked laying of the ground for a naked grab of Guyana’s lands. To hell with the December 3rd referendum. Essequibo is Ours.
For sure, a national holiday on such short notice has the potential to be disruptive, especially considering the time of year. But I look upon it as a small slice of the sacrifice that Guyanese are going to have to make at some time or the other. It goes beyond the words and postures that have soared to the rafters from behind the comfortable barricades of Georgetown, and to the compass of cardinal points. A national holiday on Monday, December 4th would be Guyana’s way (government, opposition, and all the peoples) of thumbing nose at Venezuela’s referendum. It would be doing so while sticking a middle finger in the air over Essequibo. This land is my land. This Essequibo is sowed by the sweat and blood of my people, and it is sacred.
For a national holiday would allow Guyanese from coast to coast to cross the Demerara River and travel to Essequibo en masse to demonstrate their love of country, and presence in the flesh and blood with national brethren in Essequibo. As far as possible, the PPP Government and leadership should marshal its machinery to provide logistical support, arrange for free transportation of every Guyanese citizen that raises their hands in readiness to express solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Essequibo, and to manifest their patriotism in the most unmistakable terms possible. It would be the opportunity to offer proof of the kind of deep and irreversible commitment that is inseparable from true citizenship.
It has been said that we must be of one heart and speak with a single voice on the boiling and menacing issue of Venezuelan greed, covetousness, and ambitions. I agree, and I now go further. Let us march with one tramp of feet united in defiance and resistance against whatever is going on in the head of President Maduro, and those who harbour identical ideas about Guyana’s Essequibo.
For a national holiday, though belated, would be timely, as it affords the opportunity to mobilize the Guyanese people. Mobilize to galvanize into action, and then to pulverize whatever and whoever dares to set foot in Essequibo with evil intent. Government and people have both shown that they can be receptive to other inspirations and incentives, as was the case at the time of the last Leap Year. It is time for all those Guyanese who were so energetic and impassioned to come out for something that is even bigger: the nation’s existence. It is letting the heart govern. It is time for the broadest countermove by the Guyana Government involving the breadth of the Guyanese people, and baring the depths of their love of country, and their fellows in disputed Essequibo.
For every Guyanese from Buxton to Brooklyn, from Rose Hall to Richmond Hill, let our voices ring: Essequibo is Ours! It will be defended with guts and all the strength possessed. And if that has to be written in blood, then so be it. For it will have to be the blood of each and every Guyanese. A national holiday on Monday, let it be and stand as a Guyanese counter referendum. As a moment of un-orchestrated and unforced national bonding, it cannot be equaled. As a day of Guyanese signaling to Venezuela where they stand, this would be it. We shall stand in Essequibo, with fellow citizens in Essequibo, and for Essequibo always.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall