WE are the land of many waters and our rivers do have their tales of mystery to tell, but of the elements, none can compete with fire in its activity among our humanity. Like most people, we do not relate to a discussed tragic event regardless of how popular its occurrence, only when it touches you personally. My début on the stage of fire was in 1977 when the Guyana Rice Marketing Board (GRMB) was burnt. The popular information was that this virile industry went up in flames as a result of political arson. From near and far we came and watched, speechless and angry- young men with no place of employment the following day. After that, I paid attention to whispers and discourse about the burning of sugar cane as political sabotage and of attempts at other places. Fire in our Guyana is not new; I saw pictures of what happened during the 60s when this country was divided politically along straight ethnic lines for the first time. These were not beautiful scenes, and I would like to one day see a table of the estimate in dollars and jobs lost because of those acts, but the most macabre memory of fire was as a child eavesdropping on a conversation between my Godmother and Aunt Iris who lived at Leopold and George Streets, how she related the screams of the Abraham family who lived at George and Hadfield Streets as they were burnt alive in their home- victims of political arson. How the fire was constructed had left them no chance of escape, was the conclusion.

But not all fires are political. Sometimes fate places us in locations of existence to learn. I once met a man called Aloo, by the Kingston koker next to the GRMB. After he left, my colleague who knew him informed me that he was a ‘bun-man’ for a prominent GT family. This family had- through self-inflicted arson on several of their properties – made a sweet killing of insurance payments. He was said to be a past joint service member among other embellishments but what was convincing when asking other characters about this man’s expertise, they all concluded that he was a professional arsonist. Then there is a famous case of bad business gone worse where fire was applied, and eventually, a businessman was beheaded.

There is also a mystical aspect to fire in our ‘Folk Culture’. The phenomenon of ‘Fire bunn’ is described by the magical term as send ‘Fire Bunn’ which science describes as Human Spontaneous Combustion, the phenomenal development of the body catching afire without any external evidence of ignition by fuel or substances. One such story is said to have happened on Laing Avenue and has multiplied every time it was retold. Scientists propose that alcohol usage could be a link, they really don’t know, nor do we of what mysteries our ancestors knew, that we like to describe as ‘High Science’. So far, that condition remains a scientific phenomenon, with far and rare cases reported worldwide, recorded since the 18th century.

Most countries adjust the consequence of their laws in keeping with the frequency and severity of special criminal practices, and implement where necessary monitoring measures to overlook problematic social areas like domestic tug-o-wars that emerge to ignite the consequences of houses burnt here and homes set afire there, because of situations where through trickery a relationship is torn apart and a building taken to one person’s benefit, and in retaliation the building is set afire by the apparent victim. These occurrences happen without recognition by lawmakers and have over the years merited no adjusted penalties generally for arson on one hand, and fixed institutional legal overseer mechanism for persons in a semi-literate position involved in property and home purchases on the other.
Arson, without doubt, has become over the past 10-15 years an intense weapon of concluding domestic conflicts and court disputes. More than once, rage through arson has sacrificed children and mothers unconnected to the contention. I point to Charlestown and Robb Street to identify two glaring cases, to the smouldering altar of the fury of arson. I lost a young friend who was tempted by a drug dealer to set a disputed property to fire, without any knowledge of incendiaries he somehow lit himself afire. I was told of his condition by his brother. The drug dealer was more advised and proceeded to advise the young lady who my young friend lived with, not to take him to the hospital, gave her some much-needed cash and she applied wet towels as instructed and pressed it continuously against his body. He contracted pneumonia and died as was intended.

Yes, there are demons walking among us, we must be aware of their suggestions and schemes to alleviate our financial and stress problems. Arson should be at the top of the category of serious crime. Arson and the threat of arson is one of the most prevalent methods of terror in this country. I can remember some years ago with a Regent Street fire, some Chinese were rescued by a friend of mine, from the building where it was alleged to have started. They were in a state of some form of ‘High’. Several nearby buildings went down. One store owner upon hearing that his store was burnt, took in and died of a heart attack.

Our proverbs always guide us that fire is a good servant but never a good master. In our national space, fire has become a Genii summoned with haste through different means. In closing some years ago, I sat in a friend’s home waiting for him to find a book he had borrowed and had forgotten to return, staring at nothing I was attracted by a flicker, now and again, at about every eight or ten minutes. I asked him about the contraption I was looking at from where the flicker was coming from. It was a Chinese switch on and off instrument used to steal electricity. I called an electrician friend and he advised that this cheap instrument was the source of many home fires, used by cash strapped families trying to save on unreasonably high electricity payments back then. That is self-inflicted arson, but minor to the quick alternative of enemies through home disputes, business competition, deals gone bad, political allegiances, and insurance recovery for indebted businesses. The Fire God Genii needs to be returned to the ornate goblet, through stricter laws.