One drawback from writing a weekly column is that so many events develop in the time period between submissions that choosing what to write on becomes a matter that depends largely on importance and timing. Put simply, the idea of writing newspaper columns is about what is going on and what deserves immediate attention.
Against this backdrop of events like the demise of Fidel Castro and the presentation of Guyana’s budget, a serious message from Minister Khemraj Ramjattan that cold cases would be reopened in Berbice and the exchange on the competence of Guyanese doctors trained in Cuba might have been drowned out.
As far as Castro is concerned, disappointment looms large on the write-ups on him, which arguably, have been hamstrung by love and loathe analyses. Perhaps more forward-looking would have been views from the layperson, however cryptic, of this man rather than what we already know of him. One person told me that if you live in Cuba and you are critical of Castro and you want to talk about him you are encouraged to use a sign language like this: open your palm and bring it to your jaw and then move up and down. That is Fidel’s beard.
Meanwhile, the budget from the APNU is a slap in the face insofar as where and when the working class is considered. The increase of taxes on electricity and water, the basic necessities of the poor, does not demand a rocket scientist to envisage that chaos will be unleashed on the working class. Even anecdotal evidence much less voices from the opposition and private sector suggests that the budget will biff an already beleaguered working class and provide a feeding trough for politicians. The public is piped down once again by another budget from a callous coalition. The delivery, if there is one, from our fussbudgety politicians, is marginally different from a catafalque to the living dead.
To return to my initial focus, I am moved by Minister Ramjattan’s remarks on solving cold cases. I fully support this initiative and I suspect that it will provide an opportunity for him to make up for falling behind. It is no secret that support for this regime dwindles daily in light of its continuous political fumbles and foibles. The most recent being the involvement of some politicians in the D’Urban Park predilection.
What would be the approach towards solving these cold cases is open to speculation but I encourage the Minister that the public must be a vital partner in this endeavour. This is an opportunity for the Police and community to reassess, rearrange and recommit themselves to crime fighting priorities so that a cooperative purpose can be formed to bring about best results. To do otherwise would not only be counterproductive but also urgent attention must be given to ongoing cases like the alleged mastermind, now escaped artist, hiding out for a heinous crime. The crime wave has cradled this nation rocking it to its own rhythm.
The exchanges on the competence of Guyanese doctors trained in Cuba have also produced its own rhapsodic rhythm. The questions on how competent these doctors are, is as strong as the foundation on which this country sits. What emerged, however, from the exchanges was disappointing. It is not about one doctor or all doctors who engaged in malpractice. That is petty bordering on paranoia. In the medical field, when you hurt one you hurt all even with sound procedures. The medical situation in Guyana begs the question whether medical malpractice is caused by poor training or a lack of resources—or both.
What is unsettling about this conversation is the continued reliance from the political divide on providing healthcare to the public from Guyanese Cuba-trained doctors while the upper crust seeks medical care in developed countries. For ordinary Guyanese, the former case is like playing Russian roulette.
The time has come to depart from ideological fishing (solidarity of international socialism, south-south relations, etc) based on frivolous thoughts to financing and furnishing Guyana’s own medical system. Guyana cannot afford to depend on Cuba to satisfy its medical needs. Cuba is in the throes of monumental changes least of which will be to discontinue offering medical scholarships overseas.
I predict that Cuba will send its students to study medicine in the US. There is an inward hunger for this, given the years of starvation and strangulation perpetuated by the US. Guyana must accept the eventual and inevitable outcome that Cuba would someday no longer afford to offer medical scholarships and the country must prepare itself to chart its own future medical course to move beyond medical modicum and madness. Someday the country would even be in a position to offer medical training to Cubans in Guyana. (Send comments to: [email protected])
