By GHK Lall- In the Gospels, 12 were called. To battle for a revolutionary cause. I give you the greatest commandment of all: ‘love one another. Love neighbour. And who is my neighbour? The parable involving the despised Samaritan lending a helping hand along that lonely, dangerous Jericho road furnished an answer that has lasted through millennia. From a motley, ragged, mostly unlettered group of a dozen men-fishermen, a fanatic, a doubter, a tax collector, and two pairs of brothers-emerged a group that changed the world. And, let us not forget, there was even a betrayer. As Guyanese would be inclined to say, ‘monee full he eye’ so he crossover to the Pharisee side.
The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has unveiled its 12, with a smattering of women in the company. They are starting afresh, with their leader gone. Can they rise to the challenge of the times, as those 11 did from the 1st century did? Those who were left reeling, with the wolves drooling for a chance to devour them.
Guyana has its share of uphill challenges, a place that gobbles up the weak, the unsure, the wobbly. Jerusalem was renowned as that most notorious of man-eaters, a consumer of prophets.’ What will the fate of these 12 in 21st century Guyana be? Theirs is the opportunity to be pioneers and pilgrims with a vision, and with the drive to make that happen. The people are in desperate need of such men and women. How will they respond, as 11 then 12 with a common cause? Or as the cinematic war spectacular that is remembered as the Dirty Dozen?
In Terrence Campbell, the APNU team has a man who has endured his share of wars. I think that he could be as quietly dogged as Peter, that rock on which so much was built. Indeed, a frail man, and one given to impetuosity, Peter was. But he steadied himself and quickly grew from strength to strength, as the opposition multiplied and solidified against what was dismissed as a ragtag band of brothers. The women were always in close attendance, and never shrank from the troubles and traumas of those days of Emperors Vespasian, Trajan, and Domitian. In today’s Guyana, a land that floats on a sea of oil, there are emperors who would make Nero and later Macbeth of Shakespearean letters look amateurish.
For sure, just as in the first century, there will be in that 12 of the APNU, a few who feel that their rightful place is to be in charge, when the leader leaves. Recall the brothers James and John, who even recruited their mama to plead their case. Whoever wants to be first, must know what it is to be last. I have come to serve, not to be served. My Lord, my God, if only there were those in Guyana, at every height, in every corner of the compass, who could possess such a mentality, be bold with such a psychology of the spirit, then what a place, what a world this Guyana would be.
Reality check: Ye will be reviled and subject to all manner of calumny for the pursuit of truth and justice, and the equity that only flows from an authentic fraternity. I believe that the APNU 12 has a chance to prove themselves. The odds are long. The territory is barren and bleak. But they must tarry on tirelessly. Never give up. Never retreat. Never sellout. The times demand it. The people yearn for it. In the harder moments of their existence, they must remember Peter, a man who was famous for putting his foot in his mouth, but who blossomed into an indomitable champion when the call was for him to lead from the front.
‘We must obey God and not man….’ There! Where there is a will, a way will be found. Peter found it, and so did Thomas who checked and doublechecked for himself, until he had not one doubt left. James and John went from towering ambition to god-fearing resolution. Tend the sheep. They are lost and lonely, wretched and despairing. For there is no greater love than that of a man willing to lay down his life for a stranger… Almost all of the 12 came to that sacred place, where earthly treasures and a wealth of possessions meant nothing, not even life itself.
Guyana is in dire need of men and women of that rarest of rare character, that nobility of spirit. It has searched long and hard for them among its sons and daughters, and always walked away disappointed. Will this time be different with this 12 from the APNU? Can they? Will they? The door is open. The times beckon. It is time for real men and women to stand up, lead the way forward, upward.
