By Egland Gomes- There is a time for ribbon-cuttings, smiling photographs and carefully choreographed public relations campaigns. There is also a time for humility, accountability and national mourning. Guyana is still living through the aftermath of the MV Barima disaster, one of the deadliest tragedies in the country’s history, yet the Government appears determined to project an image that everything is normal.
While families continue to bury their loved ones, search for answers and demand justice, the country’s leaders carry on as though the nation has already moved on. But no photograph, no ceremony and no publicity campaign can erase the questions that remain unanswered or the anguish of those left behind.
President Irfaan Ali, do you think pictures at a school are a great public relations strategy when the blood of more than one hundred people is on your hands—along with Minister Juan Edghill, Minister Deodat Indar and your entire Cabinet? You have the audacity to operate like it’s business as usual?
The corrupt PPP government has hijacked our democracy in Linden with a reckless disregard for the constitutional rights of the good citizens of Linden. Tell the nation why you and your government allowed the MV Barima to transport passengers when you were fully aware of the mechanical defects as illuminated by the tender documents now in the public domain. Your government spent millions on a boat from India that was used for partying while you allowed people to go to their graves.
History has a way of exposing what governments seek to bury. The grieving families deserve more than condolences, carefully staged photographs and political speeches. They deserve the truth. They deserve accountability. They deserve justice. The emergence of a new national consciousness—visible in protests, public advocacy and an increasingly fearless citizenry—signals that many Guyanese are no longer willing to accept silence in place of answers.
Thank God for that awakening. The time has come to hold your corrupt government accountable—not only for the decisions that led to this tragedy, but for every failure that allowed it to happen and every attempt to move on before the nation has healed.
