ONE of the consequences of allowing a society to descend into a state of disrepair is that when a decision is taken to tackle the problem, the will to do so is often lacking. This may well be the case with Guyana. The change of government in 2015 brought a new sense of patriotism and purpose among sections of the society. We witnessed a spontaneous outpouring of civic engagement which was highlighted by the clean-up campaigns around the country. It is easy to point fingers at the political directorate for its failure to harness and steer that new energy to a place of hope.
But our problems run deep in national veins. The last three decades of structural adjustment, imposed from outside and administered locally, have taken their toll on the country. President David Granger has called it right when he some time back that the damage done to this country during the ‘decades of troubles’ is most manifest in the demoralisation of the public and security services, the erosion of public trust and the lowering of the ‘quality of life.
The rapid rise of unbridled individualism, accompanied by a decline of collective commitment to community and country, has produced a changed society in which the very rule of law has been compromised and national values have been discarded. Partying is now a notional priority, even as patience with reflection has waned. Young people opt out of organised national endeavours when they do not discern individual gains and older citizens have retreated to their narrow confines.
One just has to look at the way we use the roadways; it is difficult not to conclude that civility and regard for the community are no longer part of our national consciousness. From the minibus drivers to the commuters to the drivers of private cars, we seem to have signed on to a destiny of disorder and disregard for life and limb. As the frequency of road fatalities rise, reckless driving has become more entrenched. What is worse is that nobody seems to care. There are more law enforcement offices on the streets, but they appear to be helpless in the face of the anarchy around them.
While we quote statistics to show a decline in crime, one cannot help but take note of the gruesomeness of the murders — such as the one on the Corentyne on Wednesday, when a teenager slit the throat of a taxi driver and other forms of violence that are in our faces every day.
Life has somewhat lost its value in Guyana; the threat of the sanction of the law is no longer a deterrence to crime. We seem to have given up as far as ensuring that our society graduates citizens whose respect for life is paramount.
The recent attempted robbery on Republic Bank with young men being involved must alert all of us to the urgency of now, to quote Dr. Martin Luther King. The stories of these men, their jobs and their families compel us to act now. Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, has promised to deal with this issue at an upcoming event. He however commented that: “It is not a nice scene and pretty negative to know that people who graduated will be the masterminds for crime.” Ramjattan said too: “These are bright kids,” lamenting they have done their parents wrong by attempting to rob a bank. This act, he said, was one of greed and showed immaturity.
Amid the despair the recent results of the National Grade Six Assessment exams gave us hope that our country is slowly being rebuilt. It is time that our politicians on both sides of the political divide come to grips with the fact that Guyana needs repair work beyond political rhetoric. While our leaders spar about macro-economics and politics, our nation is dying at its very soul. But it’s not only our politicians who must take responsibility for our condition; the citizenry at large has to find its collective soul again. Something drastic and intentional has to be done to pull us back from the brink.
