Dear Editor,
Some weeks ago, I referred to a popular newspaper column titled “BELIEVE IT OR NOT” by Ripley. It dealt with strange, unusual, and unbelievable incidents around the world.
Recent events in Guyana seem to provide the author much to write about, during the week I was informed that the Guyana Police Force vehicles are now marked Policia which is Spanish for police. A few days ago, after citizens expressed surprise, the police hierarchy issued a statement best described as puerile if not churlish one must ask what is behind this silly step of sheer stupidity. We grew up boasting that we were the only English-speaking country in South America and our traditional and earliest partnerships were with the English speaking Caribbean, of course later extended to include non-English speaking states.
To our immediate east is a Dutch speaking country of Suriname, to the south is our large neighbour Brazil speaking Portuguese and to the west is Spanish speaking Venezuela who, for years continue to claim all of the Essequibo and certainly could not be considered for that reason alone a friendly neighbour.
We also were in excess of two odd generations and had engagements with the Republic of Cuba a country that has provided training to many Guyanese in important fields of endeavour.
Earlier, they have had good and traditional relations with India and their neighbours; Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We also developed useful relations since the early 1970s with the People’s Republic of China. So, what is happening, that the Ministry of Home Affairs whose Permanent Secretary was off to China recently on a P.P.P. sponsored training course so why not label out police vehicles in Chinese or maybe Portuguese, French, Dutch, Hindi, Swahili and Araba, etc.
Recently, there were three well written editorials in Stabroek News pointing to the difficulties within sections of the Guyana Police Force, difficulties and challenges which the hierarchy seems to be ignoring. But they find the time and energy to repaint police vehicles.
So what is taking place, are we stupid or are we gone mad? While in Trinidad I was next to their St Ann’s Institution in Port of Spain that is what we call the Lunatic Asylum, a motorist was changing his flat tyre and looking on who is an inmate of the Asylum, while putting on the good wheel the four nuts fell into the St Ann’s River, of course we Guyanese called it a trench. The motorist stood up in tears and panicked about what to do. The inmate looking on said, Sir , take off one nut from each of the three wheels, put them on the spare and go to the nearest garage. The motorist knew this to be a brilliant idea, turned to the inmate and said I thought you were mad. The inmate replied, yes, I am mad but not stupid. Is it a case in Guyana that the top brass of our police force is both mad and stupid?
I listened to the host on Kaieteur radio recently, and in dealing with the oil and gas sector troubles we call upon God to help Guyana, he is so right. This move to paint our vehicles in a foreign language may seem innocuous, but it points to deeper malaise to deeper descent that taken with other current issues ought to be neither trivialised nor ignored. This is a serious matter because who knows, without discussion we may wake up one day and find our police stations and public offices flying the Venezuelan flag and the Union Jack.
The Golden Arrowhead is being used to dry the tears of our ancestors who toiled on the cotton and sugar plantations and those who struggled for independence and those who even now are fighting the good fight to give our country a distinct and dignified identity so that we can bequeath to our children and their children a land that is free, a land where even as our political leaders are the latest globetrotters. maintain our dignity as with English speaking Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
A country where our students must learn and speak English, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, French, Hindustan, and Swahili to help broaden our visitors at all times, maintaining the beauty and characteristics of our history, where we can truly boast of being one people with one nation and one destiny. Uniting the six races as we call them who have made indifferent ways a contribution to this country, we call Guyana. Are we stupid and or mad?
The trouble is modern medicine can treat madness, but I don’t know of any scientific advance that can treat stupidity. I pray to the Almighty for his intervention.
Yours truly,
Hamilton Green
