archives of february, 2003

the archives contain old posts from the home page.

7 february 2003
about two weeks ago i returned from guyana and, already, finding time for guyanatruth is difficult.

right now, the most urgent issue in guyana is crime. the crime is brutal. there are so many blatant, vicious murders that guyanese, guyanese children, are becoming desensitised to the violence. every day in big bold letters, the front page of newspapers give notice of the latest incident. an entirely new lifestyle has been adapted for survival. attire is modest, with no jewellery, genuine or artificial. the doors of homes and shops close inconveniently early at night. walking, driving and riding are now life risks in some areas even at early hours. so, in addition to the many lives, the criminals have taken away certain freedoms.

all confidence in the government and police is gone, while there is some hope in the army. since the criminals are armed with powerful weapons (automatic guns, etc.), citizens have no alternative but to flee as quickly as possible during an attack.

many guyanese look at the incompetency of our government to deal with this problem as a measure of our social advancement, as the result of the race-vote, as a sign of our inability to accept nothing less than and to work towards a well-governed nation.

the criminals themselves are shockingly heartless and cruel. they're not just greedy for money, but they have an insatiable thirst for blood. it is difficult to think about so many who must have begged for their lives in vain.

all guyanese, above race, agree that the crime has to stop because the murdered victims are no longer seen as being of this race or that (as presented by the little media machine there), but are seen as lost fathers, lost mothers, as extinguished guyanese. from what i've seen, there's an understanding that the crime goes painfully deeper than the stealing and the murder. they're not only killing guyanese one by one, but also killing the way of life, the security of tomorrow, the right to peace of every guyanese. the criminals are robbing the little things that hold together our rickety society: our hope for guyana; the little we have progressed; and what we have planned. they're not just stealing something in out pockets, but taking away something in our minds.

it is truly staggering to see guyanese continuing to strive. there are so many people that risk their lives every day in order to keep guyana running. police officers and business people, mothers and schoolchildren stand tall daily.

guyanese woke up to it today and will tomorrow. i hope that the problem is solved today.

check the latest page for updates and take a look at this picture.

15 february 2003
guyanese in america think many different things of guyana. some speak of guyana with deep-rooted compassion as if she is a relative, a mother. others speak of her as if she is a curse, a no-good place with no-good people. i, of course, speak like the former.

it is understandable why some guyanese look upon guyana with contempt. life in guyana for most people is difficult. there is very little opportunity, and very little hope. some people spend almost all of their lives in guyana trying to get into the us. other people are less motivated, but leave for the states when given the chance.

others leave under more tragic circumstances. the traumatised wife of a recently murdered businessman decided, the day after his death, to move permanently to the us with her family. her decision to leave is understandable.
people leave guyana for all kinds of reasons, but their feelings about guyana after leaving are usually either love or hate.

is emigrating from guyana wrong, regardless of the reasons for leaving? some guyanese would say that it is. they feel that leaving the country is an unforgivable act, selfish and unpatriotic. they feel that guyana will only develop if its people are made to stay home.

i think that leaving the country is as much a human right as air and water. from the instant that we deny citizens the right to leave their land, we are taking away a human right and that is an unforgivable act. if guyana is to develop, it must be done by guyanese with free will who choose to stay and sacrifice their chance for a better life in order to benefit the guyanese nation as a whole. when people choose to stay, they will simply be happier and more productive.

it is true that keeping people from leaving will ensure the educated people stay (brain-drain), and also the increased population would help economic growth with more consumers and the need for more production. but then again, it's certainly not worth it to gain a prosperous nation that costs the unethical treatment of a people. how we will arrive at a thriving guyana, is as important as being at that thriving guyana. our course must be righteous and humane, else our cause is polluted.

there are guyanese all over the world, and in guyana, who love their homeland and want to do anything they can to make things better. if all these people work together, then they can make considerable advancements. for example, guyanese have united to form old school associations that provide relief (monetary or otherwise) to their respective schools. this is a very good way to give back to the country, because the education of our children relates to our country's future.

on the other hand, there are guyanese who openly renounce guyana. it's their right to feel this way, but i think it's unfortunate that they do. there are many reasons why guyanese don't like guyana, so i cannot put forward a single reason why they should feel national fervour instead of anger and resent.

the logic is that if you don't hate guyana, you must love it. there is no in-between. if you love guyana, you should ask yourself daily, "what have i done for guyana today?" that's because we are responsible for the well-being of guyana, whether we like/accept it or not. no matter where we are, guyanese have to make it a part of their everyday lives to do something for guyana, no matter how small it may seem, to help build guyana. we must be able and willing to set aside our personal agendas and work together toward the greatest guyana. the sacrifice and selflessness required is immense.

check the latest page for update details.

23 february 2003
today is guyana's republic day. mashramani. this year's theme is "united are we in mash 2003". i particularly like mashramani. like very few other guyanese celebrations of its type, it is a time for true unity and happiness.

the president has released a message for guyanese abroad on this 33rd anniversary of the declaration of guyana as a cooperative republic. regardless of your opinion of jagdeo, a call for cooperation is a call for cooperation. i reside in queens, ny, so i'm missing the festivities. i would give anything to be there, but sacrifices are in order.

one night, not long ago, i saw a few guyanese teenagers walking to and boarding a big, white, shiny mercedes-benz. a few questions appeared in front of me, one being "how could they or their parents afford that?" i wondered if it really was possible for a guyanese to reach that kind of financial success in america. certainly guyanese have the will and ability, but in america the system does not always allow you to reach certain heights.

i thought then about the good that may be contained in america; the doors that are opened to immigrants, though many of these doors have doorkeepers that are discriminative. i think that because guyanese can make it big in america, that doesn't mean that discrimination doesn't exist; it means that they made it in spite of discrimination. therefore the main factors that give guyanese a higher chance of success are economic. in short, america is richer and one has higher chances of financial success in that country. it has nothing to do with a better social environment or better human relations. it's not about better people or better country; it's about rich or poor.

i saw them boarding the vehicle and i wondered if they were guyanese from the motherland, or if they were born in america. this, because i wondered if they were aware of and grateful for their fortune. i've seen many guyanese waste opportunities in america, so those who take advantage of america's opportunities are to be credited.

in guyana, when a family suddenly comes into great wealth, you can often conclude to the amusement of others that they are "pushin' drugs". the sad thing is that is so real a possibility in guyana, but in america it is unthinkable. i've seen guyanese in america who drive a cheap japanese car one day, and the next day several german and british imports are parked outside their house. i would assume that the family's college student has graduated with honors and acquired a well-paying job, with which he or she is able to buy cars for his or her parents. guyanese have this tradition of announcing success with the purchasing of cars. an expensive-looking car means that you've made it. (cars, by the way, are machines that do much more bad than good. cars should be built to make the world easier, but instead, the world is built to perpetuate the use of and dependance on cars.) i feel proud of guyanese who make it in the us.

all in all, seeing these guyanese get into the car (the size of which made them all look like dwarfs) with a look of satisfaction made me crave the day when guyanese in guyana can have opportunities to be successful, not necessarily financially, not to get the fancy car, but to have that earned smile that comes with hard work and corresponding reward.

finally, the president sums up best what should be the mentality of the guyanese abroad, who has so many opportunities in front of him or her: "I therefore would like to encourage you to actively promote the unity of all the people of our country so that the dream of a united, prosperous and peaceful Guyana will be realized sooner rather than later."

happy mashramani.