This morning, I watched in disbelief as James Bond, once a vocal member of the PNCR and supposed advocate for justice, took to Facebook Live dressed in full PPP regalia, preaching patriotism to the Guyana Defence Force. His message? That soldiers and police officers must be “enthusiastic” about defending Guyana from Venezuelan aggression.
Now, let me be clear, every Guyanese citizen supports the sovereignty of our nation. That’s not up for debate. But what James Bond attempted this morning wasn’t unity, it was poorly constructed psychological manipulation dressed up in red and white, designed to distract us from the very real suffering that many of us face under this PPP government he now champions.
Where was James Bond when the people of Mocha were violently displaced, their homes bulldozed with little empathy or compensation?
Where was his voice when young men, Afro-Guyanese men, were murdered, many of them by police, in what many believe to be extrajudicial killings?
Where was his Facebook Live when corruption scandals involving billions of oil dollars swirled through the media and then quietly disappeared without answers?
Instead, this morning he chose to speak to the armed forces as if he were a motivational guru, selling loyalty to a regime that has disrespected them for decades. Let’s talk facts.
Who Raised Public Servants’ Salaries Significantly? It wasn’t the PPP.
It was APNU that raised public servants’ salaries, teachers, nurses, police officers, soldiers, the very people James Bond now wants to gaslight into fighting for a country they can barely survive in. Under the PPP, public servants’ wages have stagnated while the cost of living has skyrocketed. A pound of chicken is a luxury. Many have to moonlight as taxi drivers or minibus conductors just to keep their lights on.
Worse yet, they’re forced to take instructions from politically appointed PPP lackeys who are often unqualified, arrogant, and disrespectful. These “know-nutten” superiors are symbols of a government that rewards loyalty over merit, and James Bond knows this. He lived it. Yet today, he’s silent. He’s suited up.
Where’s Your Voice on Racial Discrimination and Injustice?
The PPP has built a system that continues to economically marginalize Afro-Guyanese citizens. While the oil economy explodes with promise, Afro-Guyanese youth, like myself, still struggle to access scholarships, contracts, jobs, and startup capital. We are watching massive development projects being handed to foreign contractors, many from countries whose own citizens can’t believe how easily Guyana’s wealth is being plundered.
Where’s James’ commentary on money laundering, narco-funded construction empires, and blatant corruption that everyone sees but no one touches?
Where’s his concern about the national incompetence costing us billions, be it in flooding due to failed drainage, an unreliable power grid, or the disgrace of our public education system?
We Want Opportunity, Not Lectures!
I am a young Guyanese who doesn’t want handouts. I want opportunity. I want transparency. I want a fair shot at participating in the wealth being generated from Guyana’s oil. I want to live in a country where I don’t have to wear a red shirt or green jersey to be treated with respect by the system.
And I am tired of men like James Bond using patriotism as a smokescreen while they protect the very structure that keeps people like me locked out.
If you’re going to wear a PPP costume, James, at least be honest about what you’re defending. It’s not justice. It’s not fairness. It’s not the Constitution. You’re defending a regime that sees its own people, its own public servants, as expendable, unworthy of dignity unless they serve political usefulness.
So, no, I will not be enthusiastic about defending a Guyana that doesn’t defend me.
I will not cheer for a government that forces my people into poverty, silence, and submission.
I will not be guilted into loyalty by a man who has traded truth for a seat at the PPP’s propaganda table.
Patriotism Isn’t Blindness
Patriotism means loving your country enough to demand better for it. James Bond had a platform this morning to tell the truth. Instead, he chose to sell us a lie, and wrap it in red. But we are awake. And we are watching.
