CHRISTMAS passed with few mishaps this year, except for a bloody row that led to one man being murdered, and a fire which damaged the seemingly fire-prone franchise of Subs & Salads. Though both unfortunate, I’d say that the calm that had engulfed Guyana prior to the big day remained steadfast, at least on the political side.President Granger and the First Lady spent the day at the Georgetown Public Hospital, visiting Christmas babies. But it wasn’t all smiles — the President was there also to personally look into the conditions at the institution, stating that he’d ensure that nurses and mothers have better facilities in the future. Hopefully, this generosity will extend to the entire hospital’s surroundings, as we all know that bed-sharing and the lack of basic resources, among all the other woes at the GPHC, have gone on way too long.

Christmas Dump
While all the other politicians were caught up in family time, or were otherwise participating in charitable ventures, Mayor-hopeful Mark Benschop paid a visit to the cemetery. Some may call it morbid, but Benschop was a man on a mission. In a passionate post on his Facebook page, Benschop condemned the “City Hall sanctioned” garbage dumping at the burial site, and vowed to confront this situation in the coming days, whether he gets “locked up (again) or go to jail (again)”. Careful what you wish for Mark, you deh good, stay good. Let’s see where this takes us a couple of days from now.

Bittersweet — as usual
It was good to see the opposition participating in the well-wishing for the Christmas season, while of course managing to cozily fit their disgruntled agenda into their sentiments — thereby dampening the same joy they attempted to focus on. The opposition urged the public to remember the reason for the season — sharing and goodwill — but took a minute to reflect on those who lost their jobs “as a result of the witch-hunt which continues unabated by the government”. Then came rants about the economy, the sugar workers, and the less-than-favourable bonus -– things that they have ranted about time and time again; things that could have been kept out of a Christmas greeting. Dear PPP, can you ever really make a statement without criticism or genuine commendation?

Regardless of the woes of the country, we should, at some point, learn to take a breather and take a break; Christmas is one of those times.