New Road

By Darrell Ariel Carpenay

The Guyanese government has yet again proven itself to be incompetent of common sense decisions. In the October 2003 issue of the Guyana Monthly Update (a monthly newsletter from Guyana.org) there's a short writing regarding plans to expand the East Bank road from Ruimveldt to the Demerara Harbour Bridge costing the Guyanese working class approximately two billion dollars. The road, according to the article in The Guyana Monthly Update, is to ‘beautify the country and prepare for the hosting of the 2007 World Cup Cricket'. This should be a blinding revelation to the people who still support the current government. Moves like this show how they set their priorities and make their decisions – without us and without us in mind. Elaborating on this issue:

The Government has made an insane decision without the approval of the people (as is normally done) – and the Guyanese people have allowed them to do so. There is only one resolution to this, and that is to make your voice heard by the government through any means necessary – if there is silence, they acknowledge your quiet support. Questions have to be asked – how will a 2 billion dollar road truly help the Guyanese situation?

Tourism and foreign investment may increase, and if so, for a short while. We know that Guyanese are not as united as we should be primarily because of politicians who brainwash people of their own ethnicity into believing that Guyanese with different ancestry are responsible for their own situation. This is an old, cheap, sly tactic used to do nothing but achieve power by the easiest means necessary – and it is done by both major parties representing Guyana today. It is up to the Guyanese people to see past their lies and false promises and make the best choice for all Guyanese. Because of political greed, there is usually a period of instability for Guyana where there are protests, riots and lootings, and most unfortunately, cases of rape and murder – all in vain, and all due to the fact that there is always a ‘race vote'. Because of these instabilities, and crime waves that hit our poverty stricken nation like in 2002, tourism drops to an all time low and Guyana has to start all over again.

There is also no guarantee that if they do build this road that the World event will be held in Guyana.

2 billion dollars is enough money to greatly improve our public healthcare system, reduce poverty, and improve our educational system and public services in general. Wouldn't it be a better idea to invest the money in these things rather than waste it all on a road just to host an event for a few days – an event that can be watched on television or heard on the radio? I understand that cricket is an important part of Guyanese culture – but poverty reduction, health care and education are exponentially more important. We need to satisfy our needs before we satisfy our wants. A new road will only be covering the sores Guyana has; sweeping our problems under the rug or hiding them doesn't get rid of these problems and that is what the government has been doing for the longest while – trying to hide the problems they help along in Guyana from the rest of the world.

The other issue I would like to cover here is foreign investment. On March 25, 1964, Ernesto Che Guevara delivered a speech at the plenary session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development – in his speech ‘On Development', Che made many bold and true statements. His reason for the then state of world affairs (that which still persists today: the exploitation and repression of underdeveloped nations by other ‘more' developed nations through economic tactics) was, “…the subordination of the national economies of the dependent countries to other more developed countries, which, through investment, hold sway over the main sectors of their economies.” This truth is not hard to follow, or even realise, yet, an alleged expert in economics, our president, and his crew of bandits allow foreigners to pour into Guyana to take out without giving back: OMAI, KFC, PIZZA HUT, SUBWAY… – all which contribute no positive influence or effects for Guyanese – mostly capitalist exploitation and the yankee lifestyle. Deep-fried express consumption. And while Guyanese begin to fall into the corpulence, wasting their money to taste the wholesome generosity of the American fat – they get richer and we steadily become poorer.

Nothing is new about this – the Government have nothing but themselves in mind; not the people, not the environment – just themselves. The way they carry out their campaigns for political power is comparative to bribing a child with sweets. With promises which are never broken, but never kept, mind control tactics and mental enslavement, with cheap tricks used to grapple our emotions, and win votes for themselves: political warfare upon the minds of the people. And when power is achieved – power that is allowed by the people, the rampage of abuse of the Guyanese people and Guyana continues.

These are precisely the types of decisions the Guyanese people have to act against. I'm positive that I am not the only one against this particular decision the government announces so proudly that it has made. The Guyanese have to make a choice, not the government, and although they have not allowed us to vote upon it or put in our part, that doesn't mean that we can't do so, even if it's something as small as a letter to the President; if enough letters are written, there could quite possibly be a change of plans for the 2 billion dollars they're about the waste. After all, most Guyanese won't be attending the 2007 World Cup Cricket in Guyana if it does actually make it to Guyana. There will be many foreigners entering the country specifically for the event - foreigners with much more money than most Guyanese, and most likely, they will be occupying most of the seats inside whichever stadium the World Cup Cricket is held in.

I have realised that the future of Guyana depends not in the hands of any political party, both present and, more than likely, future, but in the hands of the people. Guyanese have been trained and brainwashed that the government always holds 'power', and that the people have to adhere to their demands, or face federal penalty- this is one of the biggest weaknesses of any group of people. History has proven over and over that it is the people who have the power, a power that only had to be realised and united. The only characteristic the Government has over the people is unity - they put their greedy minds together and devise a way to control us. This control is made easier when a population is divided, adaptive, and weak. It is up to the Guyanese people to unite against the so called holders of 'power', take the power back, and keep it where it belongs: to the Guyanese people.

Depending on the government to make decisions has always been, for the most part, a waste of time and money - time and money that could have already created a Guyana on the move instead of a Guyana stagnated by political corruption. Many Guyanese don't realise this, and many do, but not many Guyanese are about to fight for what they think is right. Many have already either chosen the path of the pacifist, or have fled the country through frustration. There are not many fighters left. It is the duty of the few who know about the atrocities of the government to spread the word; be a rebellious cancer cell, and spread the truth, and activism - the willingness to rebel at any given moment.

The government needs to understand that the voice of the Guyanese people must be heard, listened to, and obeyed. They must understand that they make decisions in our favour, not theirs, and that if there are no steps taken to satisfy our needs and demands, there will be repercussions and steady unrest for the people who have risen the anger of the people.

Fear must be driven into the minds of the people who seek to govern us, and that fear will only ignite with us. It is time to light your mind with truth and knowledge, and most of all, have the courage to act for what you believe in.