Guyana was resurrected in 1992
–now the opposition wants to crucify it all over again

OLD KAI will be joining you in the kite flying this year. I just feel an urge to resurrect my ‘caddie-ole punch’, to remind myself just how far we have come as a nation.

We can look back and say those days were fun, despite the fact that ‘belly-a-bun’, we would still run around all day in the backdams, whether it was the abandoned sugar cane lands where the Sophia housing scheme in now established, or the vast, open, fresh cut rice lands at Doch Four/Hope Estate.

Monkey apple and black water; the sticky, golden brown juice from the sugar cane plant, or whatever else we could get our hands on would later satisfy our hunger. That was life growing up in Guyana during Easter in a dark era.

At times we would be ‘fortunate or unfortunate’ (depends on which way you look at it) to see the ‘Kabaka’ during his ‘famous/infamous’ horseback rides around Hope Estate. Those cigars added an extra bit of touch to the opulence in our make believe world, or as Aunt Mildred would say, ‘our childish games’ late in the afternoon next to the rice fields as, with our ‘slingshots’, we waited on the approaching horde of birds.

For us that was the world; it was ‘as good as it gets’. We were ignorant of the life and living that was occurring beyond our horizon. Yes, those were good days, but we did not have an alternative. We had no choice but to make the best out of our reality; it was all we knew.

Easter 2014 finds our nation in a different scenario. We are rather spoilt for choices. With the exception of two, all of my friends that I have discussed Easter Monday plans with have not made up their minds. The two in Lethem, enjoying the activities in Region 9, have ensured to call every evening to ‘remind me’ how much fun I was missing out on. A big thank you to them, but it seems they made the smart choice and I am left to rue not joining them for our safari across our hinterland.

Much of that, though, was because of the devastating budget cuts against the Amerindian development fund, and the need to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters who journeyed to Georgetown to oppose the nefarious plan by the AFC and APNU.

The actions of the opposition were a resurrection of their past policies – to stifle every single area or sector in our country which showed potential for growth and development.

For them, the only way to rule was to subjugate the masses, keep them in an unending cycle of poverty, so they will not know what exists beyond their horizon, and they will not become a threat. They will stick to their games of ‘make believe’ and focus their energies towards satisfying their immediate hunger, rather than fight for a better future.

I found myself in that oppressive cycle once as a young child, and now, when I look back, I see so many missed opportunities, not only for myself, but for countless others. We could have done more, much more; we could have achieved more, much more; but we were kept in a state of subjugation. Rather than accessing an education, we were busy hauling water for many miles, and then going into the backlands to farm or fish to feed our families.

We never got a chance to think about the future. We were never given the opportunity to plan ahead; it was always about constantly satisfying our immediate needs.

Old Kai thought we had banished this reality since 1992 with the return to democracy and basic freedoms. Sadly, a one-seat combined opposition majority at the start of the 2012 Parliament is gradually working to reverse those gains we have made. It is almost déjà vu for Amerindians in this country, as tools for empowerment and education to establish village economies and employment, training and travel have been taken away from them.

Education at the highest level has been attacked with the cut of funds to provide students loans to read for their degrees at the University of Guyana.

They have cut funding for the agency established to encourage and provide support for foreign investments in Guyana; they have cut health services; they have cut vital transportation services; they have cut even the security detail for the Head of State, unheard of in any other part of the world, and bringing new meaning to their policy of ‘making Guyana ungovernable’.
Yes, the AFC and APNU are cutting away at the future of our country, the future of our people. They want to deny our youths the same way they denied Old Kai and his generation.

But No! It will not happen! Old Kai and countless others will go to our graves fighting to ensure this tyranny does not cloud our country and our people again!
Just as Easter Monday offers a chance of rebirth and resurrection; just as it offers light and hope; we will continue to struggle to hold these virtues true for all of our people in this blessed land of ours.

Go fly your kites and proclaim your liberation! Go fly your kites as a symbol of a brighter future! I wish a Happy Easter to each and every one of you.