Visiting Dutch journalist lauds ‘miraculous’ change in Guyana
THE DYNAMIC and dramatic transformation of Guyana, especially Essequibo over the last decade or so, from the shattered, soot-blackened Cinderella of yesteryear under the PNC administration, has created a veritable princess of the ball – in all its wondrous and scintillating splendour, which is most evident from aerial visuals where from any angle the landscape of the country is being magically transformed, as if by a wizard’s hand directing a mystical wand. And that wizard is no less a being than His Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo, who has been rightfully hailed as the architect of modern Guyana.
Guyana is truly a blessed country, in that it had two leaders of the calibre of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, who fought for Guyana’s freedom and the restoration of democracy in the land; and Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, whose projections coalesced with Dr. Jagan’s vision to transform this country and create the dynamics and the environment to catalyse its development paradigm into the era of modernisation ; so much so that this country, once treated with disdain and ranked below Haiti as the poorest nation in the hemisphere, is graphed on international development indexes as a middle-income country boasting economic growth even as the developed world is crashing through the floors.
And testifying to this amazing transformation is visiting Dutch journalist, Visser Tjeerd, who was forced to flee Guyana on elections day 1992 because of riots in the city, and who coincidentally found himself at the PPP/C elections rally in Lethem during his second visit to Guyana.  He happily wore a PPP jersey and posed with President Jagdeo and Presidential Candidate Donald Ramotar on the grounds of Freedom House, because he said that he was proud to be associated with such men who could work such a miraculous change within a relatively short time in a country as devastated as Guyana was in 1992.
But Visser found of greater consequence the fact that Amerindians, who were at that time a hardly seen and much-neglected people derogatorily referred to as ‘Bucks’, were today enveloped in the mainstream Guyanese society, participating in national activities.
He exclaimed in delight at the resplendent sight of the Amerindians flanking their president and presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar, as they came in waves – a sight to behold:  Guyana’s first peoples, all ages and a combination of races marching along with the incumbent President and Presidential Candidate of Guyana, flags aloft, fluttering in the breeze; and the pulsing energy vibrated in the atmosphere as the exuberant and chanting crowd surged into the compound of the Region 9 Freedom House to assemble under a tent where they awaited their leaders.
And he was stunned to discover two vocal Amerindian women ministers sharing a platform with the nation’s Head-of-State and other policy-makers of the government.
According to Visser, the transformation in the country that he has witnessed from then to now is nothing short of miraculous.
Like the last time he visited, Visser was travelling through South America, and he expressed his delight that, while the last time he had to cross from Brazil to Guyana by boat, now he only had a short walk across the Takutu Bridge to reach one country from the next.
When, 19 years ago, Lethem  had only a small shop that hardly had any items on sale, today he has seen a booming business sector, with banks, thriving commercial enterprises of every description; and hotels where before only one very simple guesthouse was operated by a foreign tour company.
Nineteen years ago, said Visser, traversing overland was nigh to impossible, with the shortest trips taking weeks because there were no roads and no vehicles.  Now there is every type of vehicle and a road that leads to the capital city, as well as interlinkage hinterland roads.
Visser commented on the fact that before, all the South American countries were connected to each other except the Guianas, but noted that now Guyana is changing that equation, which is making history in this continent.
He concurred wholeheartedly as Mr. Desmond Kissoon, former Regional Executive Officer (REO) pointed out to a highly receptive audience that before the PPP/C came into government Lethem was always in darkness, when in juxtaposition today there is a 24-hr service, which facilitates a plethora of developmental and social initiatives and a complete transformation of the general landscape of the community.
Kissoon recalled yesteryear, when communication was practically dormant, with persons walking for miles to the post office to send a telegram, then waiting for weeks for a return message.  Today, with a partnership between Government and GT&T there is almost instant connection to a call party
Goods, Kissoon related, had to be flown in via a D-6 and could only be accessed by the government-owned Guyana Stores, where persons had to join long queues for items, which were severely rationed and which ran out long before everyone had received a quota.  Then, Guyanese had to resort to shopping at neighbouring Bon Fim for goods.  Today, boasted Kissoon, Lethem has become such a modern and progressive commercial zone that the trend has been reversed, with Brazilians trekking to Lethem to do their main shopping and other business; and he lauded President Jagdeo for being the designer of modern Guyana.
According to Kissoon, the housing schemes in the region have also contributed to the development of the region, because, instead of persons seeking work and a better life elsewhere, they are now housed in relative comfort, can access other villages through interlinked roadways on which they can drive or ride, and possess modern amenities and facilities in line with their counterparts in other areas of the country.
Jobs are also available for the young people in that region, because all the various institutions and business enterprises have created opportunities for employment for all categories of workers.
Visser recalled that even though the 1992 elections were supposed to be Guyana’s first free-and-fair polls in decades, there was much violence, with riots and looting, which forced him and British journalist Anthony Jenkins (who had been beaten up when he accompanied Dr. Jagan to a polling booth) to flee the city to Springlands in Berbice, from where they fled to Suriname through the backtrack.
Also sharing Visser’s delight were the Governor of the Brazilian state of Roraima and his team, who used the occasion to extend fraternal greetings to the people of Guyana; especially the Amerindian communities, who are the nearest Guyanese neighbours of Brazil.
What marred the beauty of the occasion is the nastiness of Guyana’s opposition collective, who only know how to spread division and hatred because, although President Jagdeo made it clear that the Governor and the other Brazilian visitors were not there to join the PPP/C’s campaign and were only being neighbourly, the opposition cabal went into a frenzy, spewing vitriol and frothing poison over a simple neighbourly gesture between Brazilians and Guyanese.
The Governor had used the opportunity of President Jagdeo’s presence in the region to hold bilateral discussions on several joint projects between the two countries, one of which is exchange language classes; and also to greet the Guyanese gathered at that location, which incidentally happened to be a PPP/C rally.  There was no ill-intention and certainly no threat to Guyana’s sovereignty, as contended by the opposition collective, which jointly staged several ugly protests in print and in person.
It is a sad indictment of the motley opposition collective that they would descend to the level whe
re they could threaten a beautiful relationship between two neighbouring states to advance their selfish and power-hungry agenda.  But then that is the nature of the beast.
Speaking through an interpreter, the Governor spoke warmly of the growing relationship between Guyana and Brazil and the many partnerships that have evolved between the two neighbouring countries as a result of the close fraternal bonds forged between former President Lula Inacio Da Silva and President Jagdeo.
The Governor issued an open invitation for Guyanese to visit his country and stated that the border is merely an invisible line and that Guyanese citizens can cross over as Brazilians.  He concluded by congratulating President Jagdeo for the people-focused development that he has driven and congratulated the people of Guyana, whom he described as beautiful people of a beautiful country.  He promised to return to Guyana in the near future.
The Brazilian delegation, using the opportunity of speaking to Guyanese en masse was a spontaneous, involuntary act impelled merely by neighbourly sentiments and no other consideration.  The warmth exuded between the Guyanese and the Brazilians was not something of little import, and part of Jagdeo’s legacy during his tenure in the presidential office are the beautiful relationships and partnerships he has established nationally, regionally, and internationally, which have all redounded to Guyana’s benefit in myriads of ways; not least the restoration of respect for Guyana on the global landscape.  This is something the collective opposition constantly attempt to trivialize and derail, which is unpatriotic and probably even treasonous.