This past summer my children and I spent their summer vacation from school in Guyana. It was by far the best vacation and education in helping others they have ever had. One night, while we were out having dinner, we saw a drunk man sitting outside the restaurant. We didn’t think he would be safe if he remained there, so we tried  to get him to a safe location.
The problem was that he was not cooperating with us. We asked the restaurant security guard to help us put the drunk man in a taxi, but the guard refused. He said he doesn’t like dealing with drunk men.Then, we asked the taxi driver to help us, which he did.

Next, we took him to a hotel to spend the night, but the hotel clerk refused to accept him because of his intoxication. She was afraid that he might jump out of the hotel window and hurt himself. However, we managed to convince her to let him stay by assuring her that we will be liable for anything that happened to him.

We took the drunk man to his hotel room and tucked him in bed and prayed for him. Then, we left. The next morning, I went to check on him. He was sober. He didn’t know who I was and how he got to the hotel. He didn’t know why I brought him to the hotel. He didn’t know where I came from. He didn’t know what made me stop to help him. He didn’t know if I would return to the hotel because I wasn’t staying at the hotel.

While we were having breakfast, he began to tell me the story of how he ended up drunk and not able to make it home. He told me that he was drinking with some friends, and he had had too much to drink, and his friends left him. He couldn’t make it home because the Demerara Harbour Bridge was shut down because of damage.

Then, he asked me several questions: why you and your daughters who are strangers took the time to help me, when my own friends abandoned me?  Why didn’t you take any of my money, wristwatch, or cell phone? He had several thousand dollars on him. He told me that he was well off financially. Then, he asked me why didn’t you take my firearm?

I told him that is not what Good Samaritans do. They don’t steal or take advantage of people. Instead, they help people.

Next, he asked me, how you being black stopped to help an East Indian? Then, I had him read the story in the Bible about the Good Samaritan, which he had never heard, being a Hindu.

I told him that I am a Christian and when I saw him drunk and unable to take care of himself,  that I felt compassion for him, even thought he is East Indian. In spite of his being East Indian, he was my neighbour, I told him. In spite of the fact that some East Indians and Africans don’t like each other, he was my brother because we came from the same parents, Adam and Eve.

The next day I did Bible study with my children. We read the Good Samaritan story. When I asked my daughters what they learned from the story, my 10-year-old daughter told me that she learned that we have to put the Bible stories into practice in real life, as we did to help the drunk man.

This experience had a profound impact on my life. What would happen if only more citizens would remember what it means to be a neighbour, then Guyana would be a better country. If only more politicians would remember what it means to be a neighbour, then politics wouldn’t be such a dirty game. If only more clergy would remember what it means to be a neighbour, then more people’s  lives would be changed. If only more presidents would remember what it means to be a neighbour, then more people would live in peace.

If only more leaders would remember what it means to be a neighbour, then more people would follow them. If only more teachers would remember what it means to be a neighbour, then more students would learn from them. If only more parents would remember what it means to be a neighbour, then more children would listen to them.

For too long, Guyana has been divided by race. The land of six races. I believe
no longer Guyana should be divided by East Indians , Africans , Asians , Europeans , or Amerindians; no longer Guyana should be called the Land of Many Nations. Rather, Guyana should be called the Land of One Nation. That nation is the Guyanese Nation.

When you see a drunk man on the streets, his ethnicity shouldn’t matter. You need to feel compassion for him because he is your neighbour. And he needs your help. That is all that matters.

Here is the story of the Good Samaritan
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was travelling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.  A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”