There is a book in the Bible called Lamentations. It is an interesting Book and should be read by all. Guyana is the Book of Lamentations.
The main message of the Book of Lamentations is that even in the midst of extreme suffering, divine judgment, and the consequences of sin, God’s steadfast love and mercy provide a foundation for hope and repentance.
Christians in Guyana are firm believers. Each day people could be heard saying that they are leaving everything to God. Those suffering the most could be heard saying that God will punish the wicked.
People are lamenting amidst plenty. Guyana is said to have plenty. Its oil resource is huge. Money is flowing like sand. The sad lament is that the majority of Guyanese are being kept away from the wealth.
People walk around seeking alms and these are now the poor and deserving. These are people from most walks of life. Someone is always short of something. There are people asking for money to feed their children.
People want something to cook so they beg, but most want jobs. Many of these people who have retired have suddenly found that their pension cannot upkeep them. They are raising their voices in lament.
And the Black people are angry at David Granger.
The ruling party, The PPP, at one time proclaimed that Granger did nothing for Black people. All can remember that when he came to office he said that he was not on a witch hunt. He left people in their jobs because he wanted to break the decades old cycle of keeping people in place based on race and political affiliation.
Granger was worried about what people would say.
But as soon as he was voted out of office because the PPP had corrupted the electoral process, the cycle of victimization returned but worse.
Scores of people were removed from their jobs. I remember the case of Karen VanSluytman, a Permanent Secretary. The Permanent Secretary is a public servant but that did not stop the PPP government from removing her from office for no other reason than she was not a supporter of the People’s Progressive Party.
She was removed from her office and placed in a room at the Sophia Auditorium with nothing to do. The government did not care that it was spending money for no return. The money was not coming out of the pocket of any individual government person. Financial waste is no problem.
The aim was, and continues to be, victimization of non-supporters, most of whom are Black people.
While David Granger was concerned about the image of his party the PPP had no such worry. It blatantly put people of East Indian ancestry in key positions, regardless of their competence. The chorus was that you can say what you wish, we will do as we please.
How else can one explain the rampant corruption to the point that the Speaker of the National Assembly has banned the word corruption from the parliamentary lexicon? Contracts were given to anyone other than to people who appeared to be non-supporters.
Former Chancellor Justice Yonette Cummings was removed from office. The clear reason was that she was Black and that she had ruled against the PPP on occasions. The PPP sat and waited for the moment. It can be understood why she was not confirmed in office despite the agreement of the Opposition Leader.
Paul Slowe was another officer to be victimized. The PPP government went as far as to try to block him from the job he got with the West Cricket Board for the World Cup in 2011.
Such was the case that former ambassador Cheryl Miles refused to talk to Desmond Hoyte at an occasion hosted by the PPP although Hoyte had recommended her appointment as ambassador. She was toeing the PPP line.
Dr Terrence Campbell moved to the courts to challenge the government use of the Natural Resource Fund. It has been almost a year since the decision was promised. The judge is probably trying his or her best to avoid annoying the PPP government.
There are cases that highlight the rampant discrimination. Some are prosecuted if they are on the fringes but most are ignored. The man who tossed acid on his wife and children have not faced the court. This was an incident blamed on two Black men.
In the wake of the 1992 elections I secured a job with Barama Company as a private English tutor. The late Janet Jagan got word and she ordered the management to get rid of me. I remember one of the South Korean workers wondered what I could have done to make the government so angry.
A walk in the depressed communities brings the Book of Lamentations to the fore. People don’t top up their phones, they buy tiny scraps of meat or fish and the women rush to become security guards. That is all the job they seem able to get. Stores and supermarkets don’t want them when they can get cheap Spanish labour.
What strikes the casual observer is how people in the depressed communities respond to visits by government officials. They come out in droves. What the camera does not reveal are the laments. One lament comes from those awaiting the cash grant.
Most do not have a bank account so they will be among the last to receive any money. How could anyone who does not a regular job and who lives below the poverty line acquire a bank account? So the visiting government official listens and promises, knowing that nothing will come of the promise.
The lamentations of those parents whose young children have gone astray are as loud as any. Young boys now say that there is a government Minister who offers contracts at a cost and the cost is not financial.
The Book of Lamentations promises hope. The people who are Believers can’t see light at the end of the tunnel but they hold on to hope. Some are now talking about brighter days for their grandchildren, but not for themselves. Hope seems lost.
