Perhaps a better theme for this year’s New Amsterdam Town Day celebrations, especially that of Saturday and Sunday last, should’ve been “Drink or imbibe in 2009”. I thank God I am not a ‘New Amsterdamer’ , but it still brings me much shame writing this letter because, as it stands, I am a Berbician; and I traverse this town daily, work there, worship there, and a huge part of my days are spent there. Apart from the (what was reported in one of the dailies) “low- key” opening on Friday last, which was attended by all the town’s and region’s dignitaries, the showdown on Saturday and, to an extent, Sunday, as usual spoiled the entire affair. My curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to take a look on Saturday evening. The scene on Main Street was shocking. The first thing on my mind was that I should put the kids in a car and send them right back home. I did not want them to see (or hear) what was going on—atrocious music, one music set at every corner, each playing “something” trying to out-do the other; scantily-dressed females, some with barely anything on parading up and down Main Street; school-aged children parading with beer in their hands; and alcohol binging everywhere you looked. It was a feeding frenzy of wines, spirits and liquors—to sum it up—an alcohol orgy!

I did what I had to do and hurriedly got out of there with the kids. It was no place for the family; or for me, that was for sure. But part of the family was there—the children! I hoped I did not see any children whom I teach at school. As darkness fell, the music literally pulsated, and the area became more populated. A few teenaged girls stood at a corner in full view of passers-by gyrating and ‘back- balling’, and how they seemed proud to put on show for onlookers! I became furious.

At this point, I asked myself, where are the planners and officials of the town of New Amsterdam when all of this is happening? I guess they “did their thing” during the opening ceremony on Friday and that was that. If town day in New Amsterdam was about showcasing the town, then that was some real showcasing which presented itself; showcasing of its lowest kind. What is happening to our society, I asked myself. Do people only wait for these events to let loose and let things go out of control? How low can human beings get? But you cannot blame the people for all that happened last Saturday (and Sunday which I will address in a bit); you have to blame those in charge of the town of New Amsterdam. Though the organisers of this town day may have had the town’s interest at heart and only wanted well for the municipality, I am sure things got quite out of hand. I hardly saw any showcasing of products from New Amsterdam . The majority of the stalls at the town day did not reflect much on the idea behind a town day. Furthermore, there was an influx of vendors from the city.

On Sunday, I received reports of which stated that the ‘wash-down’ held at the Esplanade Parks in the outskirts of the town, was held in complete darkness. Yes, loud music, imbibing in liquor and patronage by persons took place without much lighting in the ground. Or so it was reported to me. I could not defend the report, since it would not have been surprising given the previous evening’s sordid affair on Main Street. It is amazing that no criminal behaviours and sex- crimes emerged as a result of the two evenings’ affair. Oh, and the morning after (Sunday) was the usual breath of fresh air as you passed through Main Street. The scene was heavenly right before workers attached to the Mayor and Town Council started to remove garbage and broken bottles en masse on the roads and corners.

More serious, though, Town Day held on an annual scale has lost its fervor; hence, why not hold the event every two years? Furthermore, if it was supposed to be an event inspired from the anniversary of the township, then why is it not held in September or October—months which are closer to the date of the town’s anniversary? Why does it seem to be moving closer and closer to the end of the year or Christmas season each year? Also, the same planning blunders are being made every year. Is no one learning from past mistakes?

These behaviours are not only peculiar to people in New Amsterdam and events like town day, but are copied at events like the Main Big Lime in Georgetown, town days of other towns, and events of similar tastes. There are those in our society who show their best to demean, denigrate and disgrace all that which is good to the human race. Their actions and behaviours taint the image of an entire town and region. More so, the true purpose of the event is hidden and all that can be seen are human beings behaving at their worst in public, and relishing in the fact.
LEON JAMESON SUSERAN
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