WHEN elections were held in 2011, I was 11 years old and I was in my first year of secondary school. In 2015, when the next elections were held, I was 15 and making my way into Form Five. These are the only two elections, before now, that I can recall for myself. And from both of these elections, I remember the pervasive tension, but I don’t recall it ever being as tense as the stories I have heard of elections gone by in the post-independence era.

I am sure that I am not the only one who believed that those days were behind us. With efforts directed towards social cohesion, I honestly believed we had been making strides in healing from those wounds resulting from years of division and prejudice.

On Phagwah Day last week, after returning from a class, I sat down with a Guyanese friend reminiscing about how beautiful Phagwah is back in Guyana and we were in the company of a few Trinidadian friends. As we were talking about Guyana, one friend asked us about the current political climate- a simple ‘Is wah really going on in Guyana?’- and neither of us had any idea how to explain what we knew.

How could you possibly explain that strife you had only heard stories about while growing up was happening again? How do you possibly explain the pain of seeing the multi-ethnic population your country boasts of having so polarised? And even, how do you explain your feelings of inadequacy, because you weren’t at home making sure your loved ones remain safe, or, in some way, help the situation?

Phagwah is my favourite day of the year, but this year, I could not celebrate it as I usually do. And that’s not because it isn’t a holiday here in Trinidad, but it’s because it is impossible to truly celebrate anything when I see my Guyana being pulled apart.

As much as I wanted to stay abreast with what was happening at home, too, I was forced to take a social media sabbatical. The racist and sometimes utterly vile comments made by people- Guyanese people- were enough to convince anyone that the ethnic divisions in Guyana were alive, and because of the events of the past two weeks, thriving.

I read Dr David Hinds’s column a little while before writing my column, where he rightfully said, the cruel reality we are confronted by is that Guyana remains a truly, racially volatile country. I also read an op-ed written by GHK Lall, and in the context of these deeply entrenched divisions which translates to tribal politics, we are reminded that neither of the two major political parties would ever truly ‘win’ an election because the supporters of the opposing side would never accept that.

Taking these two sentiments into account, it is easy for one to feel the hopelessness creeping in. I know, I feel it. I also know that there is no simple fix to achieve the Utopian-like aspiration of a Guyana that isn’t so segregated. So then, what do we do?

I wish I had the answer to that question. I wish I could say that I came to the UWI and I was fortunate to learn how to resolve conflict in Guyana and heal the wounds of the past. But unfortunately, I do not. Despite this, I do believe that I know what aren’t some of the answers to our problems.

As reasoned by Dr Hinds, citizens have the right to protest. Protest action has been part of the fabric of nation-building in Guyana and it would be hypocritical to deny any citizen the right to protest. Throwing bricks at a school bus with schoolchildren inside, however, is unacceptable. There is absolutely no justification, and frankly, no forgiveness, for any action against innocent children. None whatsoever.

Giving free rein to bigotry is unacceptable. I know different ethnicities in Guyana feel hurt due to events in the past. That pain is very real and very valid, no one can deny that. Healing your pain of the past cannot come from spewing hate and being intolerant towards an entirely different race(s) of people. That is not healing, that is vengeance. And vengeance augurs well for no one because then, the cycle of hate and intolerance continues.

And finally, tribal politics is one of the disastrous aspects of Guyana. We cannot keep voting for political leaders because they are who we have always voted for and because this is the party that my ethnicity supports. We have to interrogate those people who seek to be our leaders and ensure that they are going to represent our best interests. We have to listen to their plans and policies, and then hold them accountable to these.

My heart aches for Guyana. We have been blessed with an abundance of resources and we are on an enviable developmental trajectory. We cannot let our politics keep us in a quagmire.