SUNDAY last, I had the opportunity to experience something different and positively inspiring after a long time. I’m sure you’ve already guessed what it was just by looking at the time frame. If you’ve guessed the Guyana Amazon Warriors winning the Caribbean Premiere League finals, then you’re absolutely correct. It felt great to be in the stands, celebrating with random strangers by showing off our love for our country and sport. I am in awe of how many people came together to support and celebrate this incredible victory. It’s as if the country has no ongoing tension or conflict, right? Unfortunately, that win doesn’t make our racial, gender and cultural conflicts any less complex or uncommon—Although it would’ve been nice to suddenly make all of that disappear by just witnessing a home team win a championship.

I pondered the possibility of us continuously healing as a nation through these events, while genuinely being encouraged to always practice this cohesion in our everyday lives. For some people, it’s a false sense of togetherness during these times. It’s only showcased for certain events, and I despise it when it happens. As Guyanese, we should understand that our country is under a microscope due to our recent socio-economical improvements. There may be smaller countries than us who will eventually look up to us for examples on how to become a better nation. Is that the imprint we would want to leave with others? Our past almost always collides with the present and possibly the future. We have such a traumatizing past of internal conflicts of enormous categories and without realizing it—some people project some of that trauma onto others daily. That shouldn’t be.

Our unity should not be faked for the television and camera. We shouldn’t only consider what a community means or what it means to be a country of different races, talents, opinions and values at certain events. This should be an everyday occurrence. We ought to allow Guyana to reform genuinely and become the safe haven we always hoped would be. I don’t mean to rain on the parade (yet I am). I owe it to myself and to all of the Guyanese who read my column pieces to speak on this. We can celebrate as one but let the sentiments be remembered always. Not acknowledging our ongoing internal struggles is an injustice to us all. We should strive to do and be better.