GUYANESE are a strong, resilient people; a nation that has emerged triumphant from a very troubled past. And as long as this nation, as a collective, stands firmly in unity to continue on the path our forebears trod, then eventual prosperity would be realised sooner rather than later.Thus, Guyanese should never let the opportunistic utterances and the “uninformed ramblings” of the inconsequential and the insignificant derail the impetus of development initiatives and goals that the country is currently pursuing.
The Guyana Human Rights Association should take cognisance of the fact that human rights violations were factored into every aspect of the daily existence of every immigrant or emancipated slave, even after slavery was abolished, until the emergence of the People’s Progressive Party.
The struggles and accomplishments of the PPP and its women’s and youth arms, the WPO and the PYO, are well-chronicled, and the truth shall prevail over those who are attempting to re-write the history to make white seem black, and vice versa.
However, it is incumbent on every citizen of the land to embark on a dynamic thrust to re-affirm their commitment to solidifying the gains carved out of adversity by our foreparents; the grassroots people, because that is where our national strength lies. The grassroots working-class is the foundation and the backbone of any nation. Any government that neglects its working class is a poor government indeed. Leaders should interact with the masses; be accessible to them in their times of difficulty, because this is the only way national leaders can build trust and discourage a landscape whereby the opportunists could infiltrate its ranks with their false promises and grandiose but impractical “solutions”.
The educational/information quotient in outreach programmes should not be minimised, because knowledge provides armour against the pathological liars who are glib with their tongues and promises, so there is an imperative to be truthful to the citizens; to let them know if, when and how help can be provided, and what are the dynamics and the implications involved.
If immediate help cannot be provided, then they need to be told, and why, so that understanding and tolerance can re-build trust in the areas where the infiltrators have weakened with their misrepresentations and lies.
Our country first began its development, through cooperative efforts, to build communities, so the need is imperative to follow the examples our foreparents set and work with persons across every divide in the nation so that these efforts sustain the primary goals always sought after by the older generation: That is, to unite the nation through trust-building developmental initiatives within Guyanese communities so as to enhance the social capital of Guyana.