Whether we like it or not, the US looms large, not only in our imagination, but in our day-to-day lives; and not only at the individual level, with each of having folks over there, but nationally: seeing how, back in the day, Jagan and his Moscow-leaning got us on the US’ bad side, and it took Exxon for us to return to their “good side”!! And, irony of ironies, it was Jagan’s wife Janet – who’d suckled him at the breast of Marx and Lenin!! – who invited Exxon!!
But your Eyewitness takes, as a working proposition, that even though we’re starting to work our way out of being a “shithole” country, we still gotta go hat in hand to the Yanks to even get their attention!! So, imagine your Eyewitness’s surprise – nay, bafflement!! – when he saw the report on what Leader of the Opposition (LOO), Aubrey Norton, said at the light-waving ceremony for Melly Mel at the Square of the Revolution.
Ms Mel, – of course, as every Guyanese knows by now – was picked up by the branch of US Homeland Security called ICE – Immigration and Customs Enforcement – that deals with folks who’ve broken the immigration laws. She’s been languishing down in the Bayous (swampland) of Louisiana at one of ICE’s nine privately-run facilities in that state – in a town called Richwood. Your Eyewitness ain’t sure if the young lady’s actually “languishing”, since the private company that runs the facility – they run others in several other states – is known for having its inmates perform all kinds of work for a pittance.
But back to our LOO’s peroration for Ms Mel: “Melissa’s only crime is that she exposed crime. Melissa’s only crime is that she exposed corruption. And you know the only thing that the PPP produces is forgery and crime, and so she affects their production.”
This is what got your Eyewitness’s attention – which ain’t that easy, seeing he’s been accused of being ADHD!! So, under Trump, the US judicial system’s been hauling in persons who’ve accused the PPP in Guyana of criminal behaviour?? And here he thought that Trump felt the said judicial system is too extended right there is the US of A!!
“This fight is also in the United States, and therefore all of you must call your families, your friends, and ask them to write the senators and congressmen in the US to get help for Melissa. It must be pointed out that she committed no crime, because all she was doing was exposing criminals”!!, the LOO also said. Then the LOO, explicitly accusing the Government of being behind Atwell-Holder’s arrest, warned: “Today it’s Melissa, tomorrow is someone else.”
Your Eyewitness has heard of “Big Brother”. So, the PPP has a blond-haired one in Washington?? What power!!
…record keeping
While it may seem mundane, if we’re in the throes of the “information revolution” that’ll take us into a (brave?) new world, then we gotta appreciate it’s all about how the information’s being stored and shared – digitally – that makes a difference. The medium has finally BECOME the message!! And this is where – if we’re ever to move out of the shithole country category – we gotta get with the medium.
For instance, we hear that our financial and banking systems are ready to play with the big boys from up north. Are they serious?? We’re still stuck at signing paper cheques to receive cash grants, while everyone in poverty-stricken India has a digital account!! Anyhow, your Eyewitness noticed that a US$3.3M contract’s been signed with a UK-headquartered company to establish an electronic health records (EHR) system.
That’s as good a place to start as any, since we’ll be killing – absolutely NO pun intended!! – quite a few birds with that stone!!
Telemedicine for the interior??
…leader??
Who authorized Ralph “Fifth Columnist” Gonsalves to meet Mad Maduro as interlocutor between Guyana and Venezuela?? Pressy said bluntly he ain’t meeting the madman who repeatedly broke the Argyle Agreement Ralphie had brokered. Can an interlocutor act unilaterally??
Nada! Nyet!!
