yana’s life support machine beeps and the blood pressure of citizens rises. In worried places, people are threatened with homelessness as their homes are destroyed by wind, rain and unfortunately sometimes by their fellow human beings. The suffering of those in Success, East Coast Demerara seems to only pause for seconds and there are many reminders there that the poorer of this fastest growing economy are not first class citizens of this nation.
The sacrifices of our ancestors seem insignificant when we are faced with such hardships. Did they not walk off the plantations so we could run? Was their dream that oppression not plague their descendants? Did they not secure plots so that their children would never long for a place to call their own? How can we have so much unoccupied lands and Guyanese still be wanting for land and having to pay for a place where they were born free?
The “prime lands” where people are paying millions of dollars are not places where the average Guyanese will construct homes or rest their feet, but the least that can be said is that all the citizens of this nation have a permanent comfortable place which belongs to them. The rules we have created for ourselves feeds the disparities of who gets, who waits and who will never see.
There are citizens of this nation standing, but they are on life support. I watched women in Success cry this week. I heard them speak about their children for whom they want a better life. It is too often that the sound of women’s tears ache our ears and flood our faces. It is too often that men resolve that they are powerless. The people of this nation seem to have been frightened into tying their feet so that they would not march in their thousands, raise their voices, stand tall and say that enough is enough. They seem afraid to stand united and shout that all are equal, every Guyanese life matters, and the distribution of the nation’s wealth must be fair. This while political leaders play games with them.
The suffering of women in this country is not only about the uncertainty of housing for some of the poorest and worry about their children whom many are raising alone, but women and girls are often not protected as they should be in this country. Rape allegations surfaced again last week involving former minister of government Nigel Dharamlall. The accuser held a press conference and shared details of what she alleges happened. In places where sexual violence is accepted as a norm the stories of victims are heard, but often questioned, and forgotten.
We wonder why these allegations follow some individuals if they are not guilty. The rumour mill is in overdrive, and delusion is the life support of some people. Accused and proven rapists are often given a pass in this country while many good people cower and do not challenge the rape culture or seek to change it. Empty vessels, some with children of their own defend accused and guilty rapists. Accusers are often vilified in this society while the accused are uplifted. It is a sickness. It is the darkness that dwells in many revealing itself with no shame or apologies. But here is where we also see the vile, abusive, arrogant, and ignorant rise in this country while many of our good citizens listen to the beeps of the life support machine while monitoring their blood pressure finding hope in the fact that they are still alive.
The beeps continue. Not a week passes that the price of living in Guyana is not increased for the poor or average man. Our sanity, our security and our stability are threatened by the hands of our own people.
The teachers’ strike resumed last week. It is telling about who rules a nation when it can be allowed for children to suffer weeks of learning loss. So young, we put some of this nation’s children on life support. So young, we expose them to how indecent and vile some of those with the power in their hands are. We set them up to carry on these toxic cycles. We want the beeps to never stop but for the people to continue being dependent on imperfect men to save us.
Failed negotiations and disrespect for the educators of this nation would have contributed to the teachers resuming the strike. Lost, out of touch and insensitive people will dramatise the struggles of our teachers by making a mockery of them. The life support of contemptible ones is arrogance. They dance and tickle their funny bones because for them the price of living in Guyana is paid and their bread is well buttered for life. They try to distract the people from the real issues with their antics. What is ‘Because We Care’ if we do not prioritise this nation’s children by making steps to quickly resolve issues that affect them? Could it be because many of those with children are not affected? Could it be that their children are in private schools or the “top schools”, so they can scoff, delay, deny and disrespect the nation’s teachers?
Some of us watch from our quiet corners, listening to the beeps, monitoring our blood pressure so that it does not reach a state of crisis. We watch our screens and sigh; we watch shows of men and women conversing about what should be and should not be done some which give us hope or causes angst. We watch revelations on social media, react and comment but that is where a lot of our fight ends. We are frequently in blackout not only because of the incompetence of Guyana Power and Light, but detachment for survival is a must for a nation on life support. When will the beeps stop for many Guyanese to not just simply exist and wait for the final beep, but to live?
