By Francis Quamina Farrier

THERE are friendships between individuals who have stood the test of time- from primary school days into adulthood and on to mature years. In the good times and the bad times, as well as during the in-between times, such friendships never waver. In fact, such individuals are always loyal to each other and never say an unkind word to each other. They never say anything in the public domain which would potentially embarrass or hurt a “Golden Friend.” There is that saying, “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver, the other gold.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic surges on in neighbouring Brazil and far-away India, Guyana is keeping steadfast to those two giant countries which have been loyal friends to Guyana since independence. Brazil and India can be classified as “Golden Friends” of Guyana. Both countries are now suffering tremendously due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is now ravishing their populations. I have just seen on a Facebook post, the image of a large flag of India with a group of people kneeling around it with clasped hands and obviously praying for the country at this time of grave health distress. Guyanese of faith can offer up prayers that this deadly surge of the coronavirus in India will abate, and the death count is substantially reduced. Such prayers by Christians, Hindus and Muslims — the three official religions of Guyana — can go a long way in sending solace to Brazil and India, our “Golden Friends.”

While the Guyana government continues to maintain trade and other bilateral activities with both Brazil and India, it is incumbent on individual Guyanese who have friends in those two countries, to continue to communicate with them and give moral and other support as best they could. That’s what friends do. Recall the song which promotes the sentiments, “That’s What Friends are for.” Many individual Guyanese can use the modern technology available, such as cellphones and computers, to keep in touch with relatives, friends and colleagues in Brazil, India and other countries. From my own experience, a phone call is usually greatly appreciated by the recipient at this difficult time.

There are those old enough to have experienced what it took to make a phone call from British Guiana to the USA. It took hours — sometimes even days. The caller in British Guiana had to call the Telephone House on Brickdam in Georgetown. A response was not always immediate. One of the “Hello Girls” who answered would take your phone number and the number you wanted to be connected to in the USA. You would then need to wait for her to call you back when she was able to make the connection to the person abroad. It would be your misfortune not to be at home when she calls you back. At that time, phones were not mobile but affixed to a wall in your home or placed on a desk or table.

In this, the new and progressive age of the global village, relatives, friends, business associates and others, can keep in touch regularly via electronic technology with no middle person. No “Hello Girl” at the Telephone House is needed to get you connected. In fact, with the use of a little contraption known as a cellphone, you do everything yourself and connect with the person you want to speak with thousands of miles away, within seconds. We are now well aware of the terrible suffering of Brazilians and Indians as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With modern methods of communication, we can, and should keep in touch with those we know in those two countries which are now experiencing so much suffering. Guyana has its own challenges with the coronavirus, but we can still give solace to friends abroad with a telephone call. According to a popular song of not so long ago, “That’s What Friends are for.”  For Guyana and neighbouring Brazil, there has been a firm friendship over the decades. That was further strengthened when Brazil constructed a border bridge over the Takutu river, making it so much easier for traffic crossing that river at Lethem and Bon Fim, back and forth.

My first article about the COVID-19 pandemic was published here in the Pepperpot Magazine on May 3, 2020. In that article a year ago, I reported on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. That was so as a reflection of the observance of Indian Arrival Day, which is a public holiday here in Guyana. In a portion of that article, I reported on the then situation of the coronavirus in India, a country with a population of one billion, 380 million. A year ago, India had 29,500 citizens affected with the virus, and 940 dead. A year later, May 3, 2021, those figures have exploded. There are now 17,868,000 affected Indians and a total of over 212,000 dead, and counting. This new extremely high effect of the COVID-19 in India has the rest of the world worried and expressing willingness to send as much assistance as is necessary at this time.

This is a period in world history when countries of varying political and ideological persuasions, are, to a greater degree, closing ranks to battle this silent enemy which, at the time of writing this article, has 151.6 million coronavirus cases and three million 186,000 deaths and counting.

For those of faith, be you Christian, Hindu or Muslim – the three official religions of Guyana – this is a period of time to offer prayers for the people of Brazil and India – two of Guyana’s Golden Friends.