Dear Editor,
AS THE political rhetoric heats up in Guyana, please permit me space in your newspaper to respond to a statement made on Freedom Radio 91.1FM on July 23 2019, on a programme hosted by Mr. Ganga Persaud, where one of the callers stated, “The President is acting ‘don’t-kay’ and when there is a problem, he leave[s] the country.”

It is very disappointing to know how some Guyanese are having a problem with the Head of State leaving the country for a scheduled medical check-up, since President Granger was diagnosed in October 2018 with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and he was undergoing treatment in Cuba.

Therefore, as result of that, the president had to travel several times to Havana, Cuba to complete several rounds of chemotherapy for his ailment.

How petty can one get, and how low can one stoop! I would like to refresh the caller’s memory, and to remind Mr. Ganga, who did not have the decency to admonish the caller to be respectful, that President Granger is not the first president that has travelled out of Guyana to undergo medical treatment. For example, the late president, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, who suffered a heart attack, sought medical treatment overseas, and former president, now Opposition Leader, was airlifted to the United States to a Florida hospital, using a private luxury Learjet. Does anyone remember that?

Editor, as a young Guyanese, I am disturbed at how callous we can be about another human being’s health, more so that of the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. We should desist from making rash statements, and understand that we are all human beings, and deserve compassion when we are unwell.

Sincerely yours,
Ceion Rollox