WHEN I see things in Guyana that are inexplicable, Sigmund Freud comes to my thoughts. You would think Freud would be the first person in the world to understand the human mind.
He wrote brilliant books describing the way the mind functions, the burden the mind faces from brutal realities of the world, the ways humans can preserve the sanity of the mind and the ways in which the mind can disintegrate. Freud concluded that he did not understand people.

If he studied people all his life and couldn’t fathom them, then could people ever be understood? I likened Freud’s words to Guyana. I lived in Guyana all my life and have studied Guyana all my life and I don’t think I can ever comprehend the people that inhabit a land named Guyana.

When I was courting my now wife, 46 years ago, she introduced me to a song from her favourite singer, Neil Diamond that I came to love deeply. It is entitled, “Both Sides Now.” I offer you a few lines from that song.

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all
I think of Guyana like this. I am in advanced age and I wonder if I will ever comprehend the psychological contents of my country. What you are about to read from me, does not happen in the real world. You just don’t see people do these things in the real world. But I saw this thing in the afternoon of Monday, October 7, 2024, at 17:00 hours, two blocks from the street where I live.
I believe President Ali is a different President from what we had since Independence. I believe he means well and wants to leave an attractive legacy. I think that is within his grasp. You cannot blame the President for things that should never happen in Guyana when he is not responsible for such occurrences and such occurrences he had no control over.

I hear people blame the government for all kinds of things that the President would correct if he knew about them. For example, I get complaints all the time about the heart-breaking mistreatment of students at UG and my immediate reaction is that I have witnessed these things at UG, 20 years ago; why are they still plaguing UG? I don’t think the government knows about these UG aberrations. We have to bring them to its attention
So last week, one of Guyana’s leading land surveyors called me about the mistreatment of his son at UG; I called Dr. Emmanuel Cummings, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and he agreed to speak to the father. I contacted the Registrar, Dr. Nigel Gravesande who sat next to me in the same classroom over 50 years ago when we were history students. Dr. Gravesande was indeed very helpful.

Thanks for bearing up with that never-ending digression. Let’s return to the unbelievable thing I saw on Monday, 7th. I put my dog in the car and was off to the seawall as I usually do every afternoon. The entire country knows that in the morning and afternoon rush hour traffic, the traffic ranks man the junctions even though the traffic lights are working. They still control traffic because even though the lights are working, the buildup is tremendous.

On that Monday afternoon, the lights were working at Railway Embankment and UG Road, Railway Embankment and Conversation Tree, Sheriff Street and Rupert Craig Highway. Yes, the lights were working and the ranks were there ensuring the smooth flow. Now read this because you are not going to believe it.

At UG Road and Rupert Craig Highway, the lights were out and there were no traffic ranks and the confusion was nerve-shattering. I spent more than 15 minutes trying to get onto the Rupert Craig Highway from UG Road. That was the junction that the ranks had to be since common sense would tell you that the ranks would be needed there rather than at junctions where the lights are working.

Even if the buildup was huge at the junctions where the lights are working and the traffic is slow, the functioning lights would still prevent chaos. When the junction has non-functioning signals and there is no rank to control the flow, then chaos is the obvious result.

I rang the Traffic Chief and he was annoyed that no policeman was there. He promised he would intervene right away and he did. I drove to the seawall and turned into Traffic Head office to speak to Deputy Traffic Chief, Mr. Fredericks. He acted right away. What happened to common sense in Guyana on that Monday afternoon?

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.