By GHK Lall-I offer a snapshot of what a march for justice, a stand for what is right, looks like, as spearheaded by Guyana’s Seventh-day Adventists. The still frame can be found in KN’s edition of Monday, May 5, 2025. In the middle of the KN front page, there they were in neat lines, quiet demeanor, flocks of Seventh-day Adventists. It was a march for justice for Adrianna Younge, only 11, but now etched into Guyanese immortality. I salute the hundreds who walked for Adrianna in Berbice, who graced her untimely and upheaving death with the solemn calmness, that indefinable dignity, it deserved. For what is a march for justice, if we are not about what is just ourselves?
If any party harbored ideas about infiltrating and bringing that march into disrepute, they would have had to rethink their options. Order and discipline evident, and that much could be gathered from only a picture. Whoever is concerned about infiltration of their marches and protests by the agitators of adversaries, well, there is the blueprint of how to manage their public expressions of disagreement.
Some may argue that that works for a church march, where members are known and can be accounted for, always under steady watch. I hear that, but I still say that what works in the spiritual realm, can be taken and refine for use in other ones. Naturally, there are those who would still try to bore holes in such undertakings, once they have a certain color and a particular flag attached, plus a history that can be manipulated for the required optics.
But whatever the dirty words of derogation that are loudly spilled, it is doubtful that they would get the usual reception. Take away the ammunition of some, and they are forced to the drawing board, to learn how to fight square. Thus, a march for justice for Guyana’s dead, of which there have been too many of the questionable, could proceed with the proper respect. For the dead, for law and order, and for ambience in the environment. Regardless of the heights from which the frivolous, the ludicrous, and the obnoxious flow, that is how such antics will be seen, dismissed.
This country needs radical change, many of such. A change in the culture of leadership, the culture of corruption and coverup, and the culture of righteous indication that has no bearing, no harbor. The well-intended, the conscientious objector, the anxious citizen, would be better positioned to overcome the laughable: “politically motivated.” That’s just not defensive; it smacks of the abusive. And then there its twin “politically instigated.” This is how some cheapen their presence, reveal the diabolical cleverness in themselves.
The Seventh-day Adventists showed all Guyana how to march for justice. No manmade thunder; only surrendering to the commandments of God. To all men, peace and goodwill. To the fallen, even in times fouled and standards drained. I hear a strain of sound as old as man: we shall overcome. It is why I say to all citizens, lighter or darker, be peaceable amid the vexations of the day. And when there is the swift, easy dismissal of critics and naysayers, hold head high. Keep balance. Stay focused.
Adventists were marshaled and marching. Left, right, left right, has its own cadences. Those empathize during arcs of crisis. They dream of justice. There is found the courage, and wisdom, to stand for a righteous cause. Regardless of what others say, or from which elevations they brandish hard words, and issue smears that brand. In another time, another place, those who stood up, stood apart, and spoke out were denounced as ‘deviationists’ and ‘undesirables.’ Death sentences delivered. Guyana is but a cat’s whisker from there.
The Seventh Day Adventists had one primary objective – keep the name Adriana Younge alive, help her cause thrive. From this must come some learning. From learning comes readiness to deliver the fullest admission. Of where things took a wrong turn, due to who didn’t do their duty in the straightest manner possible. Plus, that loose end of who was behind those given the responsibility to protect and probe for truth, but guided them to lose sight of their oaths. When there is admission of failure, that’s the first step to credibility, that sacred trust so alien to Guyana. To play games, to manufacture enemies, simply drives another nail in Guyana’s coffin, locks it tighter. Let’s change that route.
The Seventh Day Adventists marched in Berbice for Ariana. I study how a march, a protest, an assembly on the road, is done. It would be inspiring to see other religious houses rediscovering basic truths. There is the powerful example set by the Seventh-day Adventists. A time to mourn. A time to stand for justice. A time to begin healing. It’s a long, painful process.
