Dear Editor,
I read Laurie Greenidge’s recent letter in another section of the media, captioned “Neighbor burns garbage under my bedroom window” with outrage after learning of such bellicose residents in his community. Greenidge’s ordeal can only be described in the context of dysfunction which saturates this country and cripples every aspect of it. Dysfunction upends lives, drives emigration and anchors us into poverty. No doubt Greenidge’s letter resonates widely.
I too can relate to Greenidge’s experience. Although I no longer live in this country I still have memories of my dysfunctional neighbours who dumped garbage on my parapet, blared loud music from the wee hours, damaged my property, burglarised my home and pumped a bullet in a family member. They even conspired in cover-up attempts and labelled me an evil person when I mobilised the Police. What dysfunction!
Like any Guyanese, my unfortunate experience pushes me to rethink my future here in this country. Even against such a dysfunctional backdrop Government turns a blind eye and advocates for overseas-based Guyanese to relocate here. Where is the logic? Government lacks common sense and it is precisely why this country racks up five decades of failure. How can anyone live here or raise children here amid such bloated dysfunction? Obviously, they can’t.
It is worth noting that nearly every dysfunctional problem which pollutes this nation including crime, robbery, domestic abuse, harassment, racism, corruption, abusive minibus operators, and so on, are tied to one common root cause – a lack of education.
It seems that Guyanese for the most part can’t differentiate right from wrong and are in dire need of guidance. To ameliorate this problem Government desperately needs to infuse education. This means that at the very least Government must racially/ethnically diversify the Ministry of Social Protection or else this country continues on its dreadful, steep decline.
Sincerely,
Annie Baliram
