I have been quietly observing what amounts to a weekly repetitive sermon by one Richard Francois who seemingly takes pride in ensuring all Guyanese know that he is living and working in the UAE. It appears that this individual is not aware that most Guyanese are very conscious of what is happening around the world including in Egypt so this ‘enlightened local-foreigner’ feels the need to sermonise us with what we already know.
The sad thing is Francois who is supposedly in the media or has such a background is disdainfully boring and uninspiring in his cut and paste jobs which I dare say is much more suitable for the repressive society this hypocrite currently lives and work in but clearly does not have the gall to speak about its system of governance.
This man is working for a country which is one of the significant players responsible for the global financial collapse resulting in countless suicides and other related deaths, millions being pushed into poverty and starvation, millions being made homeless and jobless, entire populations and future generations being affected by the reverse in social gains in many countries both developed and developing, yet this man who masquerades as being the conscience of Guyana does not have the decency to speak out about these grave human rights atrocities for which his adopted homeland is responsible for.
I used the term ‘hypocrite’ because he serves a nation where there is no democracy in government as the UAE has no political parties but is run by a supreme council of hereditary rulers and no formal mechanisms through which the people can participate in public-policy decisions.
However, because of their vast oil wealth the mini states which make up the UAE has managed to escape the fate of much of their neighbours. As such, Emir Francois is willing to sell even his soul to continue milking the cash cow while conveniently turning a blind eye to the undemocratic system he supports.
But Emir Francois finds it most fitting as an ‘enlightened local-foreigner’ to encourage Guyanese to take note of how people in ‘repressive societies’ collectively rise in unity for change by using Egypt as a direct reference.
Let me just add that in Emir Francois society apart from no freedom to choose a government, no transparency in investments which contributed to the global meltdown and rampant corruption there are also severe restrictions on the media.
For local filmmakers to be deemed suitable to qualify for funding they have to practice ‘self-censorship’, a wide range of books are banned and persistent censorship of the internet and telecommunications is the order of the day in his society.
This is what Open-Democracy had to say about people like our Emir Francois – “no longer can the National Media Council easily impose jail terms on offending journalists; but large fines remain possible, and journalistic misconduct is still considered to be a criminal offence. More importantly, the NMC can effectively rely on a body of journalists who have been weaned on decades of self-censorship: the majority of reporters are expatriates and few are willing to jeopardize their tax-free salaries and livelihood”.
I conclude with another quote from Open-Democracy – “In January 2008, the director-general of the NMC admitted on a US radio interview that it was still a punishable offence for journalists to criticise directly members of the UAE’s seven ruling families”.