OCTOBER 5 marked twenty two years since the PPP/C administration came to power. An entire new cohort of Guyanese voters has since emerged who never experienced the pangs of authoritarian rule. The days of PNC rule (or rather misrule) for all practical purposes have for them only historical value.

Yet it is important that we learn from history. As someone once wrote, those who ignore the past are condemned to repeat it.

We live in a new Guyana, thanks to October 5 which ushered in a new beginning some twenty two years ago. But even as we celebrate this ground breaking event, we must not forget the indefatigable role played by the PPP and more particularly the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan who dedicated his entire life to the cause of a free, independent and democratic Guyana.

To say that we have come a long way since, during those twenty two years, is an understatement. The reality is that we now live in a new Guyana. A Guyana that is democratic and free; one in which

there is respect for the rule of law and where every Guyanese regardless of the colour of their skin, religious or political affiliation has an opportunity to pursue their dreams and develop to the full limit of their potential.

Why are these values so important? Because they speak to the very heart and soul of our nation. Where freedoms are curtailed, and even worse denied as happened under the PNC regime, life becomes poor and miserable and the true essence of the human spirit is stultified and broken.

This is exactly what happened for nearly three decades of unbroken PNC rule. The Guyanese society was in a state of induced coma, a paralysis of mind and spirit and despair and hopelessness stalked the land. The country was reduced to a pariah state and its citizens reduced to second class citizens even by regional standards.

The instinct to survive forced a countless number of Guyanese to go underground in order to survive and the underground economy took precedence over the formal economy. Guyanese travelling to neighbouring countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Suriname were placed under heightened surveillance at Caribbean airports just to ensure that they do not abscond or depart from scheduled destinations.

I write from experience when I recalled the humiliation I was exposed to during a return flight to Guyana which required an in-transit stop at Piarco Airport in Trinidad and Tobago during the early 1980’s. All passengers were allowed free access to the airport lounge except for Guyanese passengers who were literally quarantined in a section of the airport. The fear was that Guyanese would escape from immigration authorities and seek refuge in the country.

It was a pathetic sight to see Guyanese with bulging suitcases full of food items which were either banned or unavailable on the shelves of Guyana or if available were sold at exorbitant prices way above the reach of the average Guyanese. Many of the things now taken for granted on the shelves were banned from entering the country. These included wheaten flour, peas, cheese, sardines, potatoes, apples, grapes to name but a few. That in turn led to a thriving underground economy which at one time was believed to be bigger than the formal economy.

Guyana has today shed that image of a broken and failed state. We are now a respected member of the international community. We are no longer looked down by our sister CARICOM states and Guyanese can now travel hassle free to and from any member state.

At a more fundamental level, our freedoms which were taken away from us have now been restored. We can now freely elect our national leaders in free, fair and transparent elections. This for me is one of the most basic of rights. There is today complete freedom of speech and freedom of expression. There is no longer the fear of “big brother” watching over one’s shoulders as happened when the PNC was in power. Those were the times when institutionalised fear permeated the society forcing many professionals to leave the jurisdiction and seek employment elsewhere. A few were even killed under mysterious circumstances as the Rodney Commission of Inquiry is now exposing.

We live in a new Guyana, thanks to October 5 which ushered in a new beginning some twenty two years ago. But even as we celebrate this ground breaking event, we must not forget the indefatigable role played by the PPP and more particularly the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan who dedicated his entire life to the cause of a free, independent and democratic Guyana.
Indeed, it was poetic justice for Dr. Jagan to be sworn in on October 9, 1992 as the country’s first democratically elected President which coincidentally was the same day in which the PPP was thrown out from office some sixty one years ago when the Constitution was suspended by the British Government. The first task undertaken by the new PPP/C administration was to rebuild the country from past ruin. It was a daunting task but the new government led by Dr. Jagan proved equal to the task and within a relatively short period the country was back on track.

The PPP and the PPP/C administration must be commended for the role it has played in the struggle for democracy and for rebuilding the country from the ashes of the past.

(By Hydar Ally)