Dear Editor,
Today’s provocative editorial ( “Guyana Then and Now”, KN, 19/12/16) resonates very much with the sentiments that are triggered in me every time I visit Toronto as I am indeed currently doing.
The bold editorial comparison between the status quo of pre- and post-independent Guyana is quite ironic when silhouetted against the picture of the obvious social, psychological, material and communal progress made by Guyanese who migrated to Canada (and elsewhere) during the same period.
We must respect and applaud the resilience and ambition of our Guyanese compatriots who are able to make good in countries that are no more bountiful in natural resources, much less hospitable climatically (right now it is like living in a refrigerator here in Toronto!), but which continually provide extensive enabling political and cultural environments for all its multiracial, multicultural citizens and residents.
I am reminded of the old, but in this context misleading saying that “you can take a man out of the gutter but you cannot take the gutter out of him”. Guyanese ran away and continue to do so because of the steadily sliding standards and elusive achievements in Guyana since Independence. They have proven beyond doubt that, whether it is England or the USA or Canada, they can be a progressive people when they are not subject to the ‘gutter politics’ and other demeaning circumstances which have been taking place.
They therefore sought a more enabling environment for them to express themselves as intelligent, ambitious and progressive people and, by and large, they have succeeded in doing so for themselves and their families.
Let us hope and pray that our political leaders will, sooner than later, realise that the essential development of our dear land of Guyana depends very much on their creating an enabling environment for ALL GUYANESE.
In this context we should also not lose sight of the fact that successful Guyanese in the diaspora are not averse to returning to assist with the development of our country, all things being equal, especially if they can be made to feel secure and free from the many societal biases that still plague us.
The sum of Guyana’s parts will always be greater than any one part.
Yours sincerely,
Nowrang Persaud
