I WOULD like to posit the corollary that people who care for animals and the environment also care for their fellow human beings; and the converse is also true. Such people generally perform purely from an altruistic position and expect little or no political plaudits. Having said this, I wish to openly present bouquets to three sets of people in Guyana for exemplary efforts in the fields of zoological and ecological care. These are, not necessarily in any prioritized order: (1) Syeada Manbodh, Soraya Arjune, Mr. Richardson, and their other associates (and recently joining the group – First Lady, Mrs. Deolatchmee Ramotar)  for going out on a limb to rescue various voiceless friends in distress or  become unfortunate victims of other people’s cruelty. (2)   Annette Arjoon-Martins and members of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project, in particular reference to the women of Ann’s Grove, Victoria and Belfield.
We may not realise it now, but in a decade or two, when the tides rise to tsunami proportions and threaten the entire coastland, then will we recognize these people as virtual heroines and heroes. (3) The Junior Chamber International (JCI) Guyana, APNU youth arm, PPP/C Youth Arm and also the members of the Golden Jaguars football team that held several clean up campaigns in Georgetown.  Also, the U.S. embassy, the British High Commission, the Canadian High Commission, the European Union Delegation in Guyana, Conservation International, and Youth Challenge Guyana, for initiating a project called “Guyana Shines” to encourage and mobilize Guyanese communities to maintain a clean environment.

Hats off, a standing ovation, and bouquets to these people, especially our youth and all others who have come to realize that the earth is our home, and we should care and respect it and its inhabitants. We should not batter and abuse it (and its creatures) as some men do their wives and children; for as Chief Seattle rightly taught us, “the earth does not belong to us, we belong to it.”