—The behavior of some communities may be determined by their names

By M Margaret Burke
ONE of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes is taken from the well-known love story of Romeo and Juliet: “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Imagine a person without a name; a nameless event; a nameless village, town or country; anything without a name is almost non-existent. There is power and value in a name and so some may advise to be careful how names are named.

The question then could be: Could a name give power to, or sway a person’s character; a village, ward, town or country that is named after it; a particular situation or event that is called by it?

Yom Kippur
Valley of Tears, which is the name given to an area in the Golden Heights, after an intense battle, known as the 1973 Yom Kippur War or the Ramadan War or the October War. This was a war that was fought by the Arab States, led by Egypt and Syria against Israel.

However, right here in Guyana there was a place known as the ‘Valley of Tears’ – a familiar name ‎known to most Guyanese – it was a name given to a place in One Mile Wismar, Linden, but this name has since been changed to ‘Victory Valley’.

The then Valley of Tears, though a normal area in Wismar where people live, was known for its fair share of crime and shedding of tears and so it was for this reason that a decision was made, among some of the people living in the community to change the name to Victory Valley.

However, this did not stop criminal activities immediately. As a matter of fact, even today there is still some amount of crime – like in other parts of Guyana. But the feeling was, and quite rightly so, that by just calling the place Valley of Tears was in a way affirming a fact… a certain way of life for the people who lived there.

The Nacett Gang
The Valley of Tears had seen some terrible days. It was in the days of the ‘Nacett gang’, where men like the so-called Beckles brothers and a man called ‘Poison’, among others went a constant rampage around the valley raping women, while some said that even some men were also raped, even as they also raped couples. These men slashed their victims with the Nacett razor blade in hurtful places, which they carried out as their main attack weapon.

This situation was so evident that even years afterwards, when a young lady, who had gone missing and was eventually found tied up in a black jute bag in a clump of bushes not far from her home, some folks of the community expressed their disgust opening, saying that although the name of the community had changed some things had not yet stopped. That young lady had found to be raped and gagged too.

It is believed that all those who operated the ‘Nacett gang’ are now deceased and even many of the ‘bad men’ of the day who lived in that community. Crime, however, is now being seen as a much lower level in the community.

WARLOCK, EAST RUIMVELDT
Some of the more recent reports of the community reads: Warlock drive-by shooting leaves one dead and another injured; footballer gunned down in East Ruimveldt; Warlock execution-style killing; man shot dead in Warlock; …shooting in Warlock has left one man dead and another in critical condition at a city hospital; 19 year old of East Ruimveldt, shot and killed during an argument with two men at Warlock; executed in East Ruimveldt. brazzos striking back one by one by one … scores of ‘party fanatics’ during a street jam at Warlock, East Ruimveldt and it continues.

Transformation Initiative
Since mid-September, 2014 an East Ruimveldt transformational project was ventured into by some of the community leaders. These leaders sought and acquired funding from the EU; they also got the Ministry of Local Government’s involvement to help them set the project in motion.
The project was named the ‘East Ruimveldt Cooperating for Community Transformation Project’, and stated that its intention is to seek to bring about positive change and improvements in the lives of the people living there, especially the young people.

This project, it was reported, had been implemented by residents of the East Ruimveldt community, through collaboration with four churches of the community. These churches were East Ruimveldt Brethren Church; Church of God of Prophecy; Restoration Ministries and the Ruimveldt Life Improvement Centre.

Pastor Simon Harris of Ruimveldt Life Improvement Centre, who had delivered the feature address declared: “I am happy about what is being berthed here today… In my estimation the future can only look good.”

Harris had commended the European Union for bringing on board that component so necessary for the transformation of the community – the funding, adding that by doing so, they have demonstrated that they do care about the community’s transformation. That component, he said, will cause the people to see possibilities and imagine great things.

Pastor Harris emphasised then that the church, working together with the families of the community, becomes crucial in the scheme of things. “Our nation needs people with a moral base, and that comes from the family institution,” he stated. This is a clear indication, he said that with the ‘East Ruimveldt Co-operating for Community Transformation Project’, there is hope. “Despite negatives, I see this area as having a lot of potential,” he concluded.

Clearly, much effort is being made to bring change to this community – the people there, including their community leaders, are taking the challenges head-on.

Yet still, is there still a need to revisit the name of this community named ‘Warlock’? What do you think?
Contact: mercilinburke2017@gmail.com