A MERE 48 hours before the celebration of Christmas Day, coastal Guyana was taken by surprise by a sudden downpour which began on Thursday night and lasted practically throughout Friday, inundating literally every street in Georgetown, the area that seemed hardest hit.Streets appeared like rivers, with bridges submerged and tracks and pathways disappearing under water, causing some pedestrians and motorists to misjudge their moves and ending up in trenches.

So deep was the inundation on roadways that a few motor cars broke down and were left at the roadside, their engines badly affected by the water. Worse still, was the tragic situation faced by households occupying lower flats, who woke up to find their homes under water: newly installed carpets, vinolay, Christmas trees and other decorations either covered by, or floating in, ground water. It was a bleak day for coastal Guyana, but bearing the brunt of the sufferings were residents of Georgetown, where the constant construction of high-rise buildings, towering several storeys high, continues to cause the land to sink to frightening levels.

Commercial activities were dealt a hard blow, for the crowds that would normally throng shopping centres and municipal market places were detained either because of the depth of water through which they would have had to wade, posing great risk to their health; or the limited availability of transportation, since many motorists parked their vehicles for fear of getting water into their engines.

But all was not lost, since the celebration of Christmas is a big thing for Guyanese, and it would take a lot for anything to turn the average Guyanese off from preparing for Christmas.

Asked how they view the water accumulation on the land affecting Christmas, some persons’ responses were: “Christmas is a holiday observed by all the races of Guyana, and we got to celebrate. Even if they got to pump the water off the land, Christmas activities must go on. We got to do what we got to do.”

MAD RUSH
And so Guyanese, as soon as the water had begun to recede off the streets of commercial areas like Regent Street and Stabroek in downtown Georgetown, were back on the streets again, wearing long boots and creating a mad rush to zero-in on Christmas bargains and make last minute purchases of ingredients to make the traditional pepper pot, black cake, ginger beer; and carefully selecting window curtains, carpets, flowers, vinolay and other decorations for the home.

But speaking with shop and stall holders in the municipal market areas, many expressed concern over losses suffered as a result of water having flooded out particularly Bourda Market and stores along Regent Street. Crates and boxes of items normally stored under counters were flooded out and had to be discarded. Water got into the bottoms of freezers in the butchery area and into rice stored under counters by wholesalers.

Young roadside vendors had a bad day, since the streets were flooded, making it impossible for them to sell. Many fruits’ and greens’ vendors, because of limited space along the roadways to display their produce, were seen displaying them in baskets on the roadway, which only hours before had been flooded. This constitutes a serious health threat and justifies the need for proper vending areas with the necessary facilities to be constructed for vendors. The vendors are calling on the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown to address these concerns.

“But one People, One Nation with One Destiny as we are,” folks contend, “it would take a lot to change our culture. Christmas is embraced by the Guyanese people, and let’s not shut ourselves behind doors or harbour a glum mood because of losses we might have incurred as a result of the flooding of Georgetown.”

For this kind of serious flooding to have taken place in such a short time, they contend, something must be wrong with our infrastructure, and so people are calling on the engineers to change that.

NO LOVE LOST
Adopting an attitude which says: “Give me a lemon and I would not tell you how sour it is, but I’ll use is to make lemonade (a pleasant and palatable beverage), some folks interviewed insist that the rain has its work to do; and if we are to co-exist, then let the rain do its work and our engineers do theirs. In this way there will be ‘no love lost.’

And so it was not all gloom and doom, as was evident in some commercial quarters, such as meat vending areas at the Stabroek Market, where housewives were busy shopping for

pepperpot meat. And at Demico House, where, towards evening, the GBTI Buxton Steel Orchestra was doing a fine job of regaling shoppers and passersby with Christmas carols and sweet musical renditions, making it evident that regardless of what happens, Christmas is in the air.