Dear Editor,
Since coming to power in August, the PPP Government has faced one hurdle after another. Naturally, the expectation of a new Government is that it would have to confront certain challenges upon assuming office. Adjusting to new roles and responsibilities, allaying the fears and anxieties of citizens, addressing key issues with a sense of urgency, reaffirming commitment to global obligations, building a rapport with the diplomatic community, and setting the stage for long-term goals and ambitions are some examples of issues that a new Government would likely face.
However, when certain events unfold against the backdrop of unfounded criticisms of, and threats against, the new Government, it becomes clear that those events are not natural, but are induced.
Because the nature of the problems today is the same as what it was in the past when the PPP won general elections, we can reasonably conclude that what has been happening since the new Government was sworn into power has nothing to do with alleged discrimination, power illegitimacy, oppression, irregularities, inequalities, or any of the other ludicrous things attributed to the Government.
What we are witnessing is nothing but the regurgitation of the philosophy: “If we can’t govern, then no one else should be allowed to”. Acting on that philosophy, burning, pillaging, looting and beatings have become almost a commonplace aspect of public life in post-elections Guyana. Indeed, these are the quintessential responses of APNU’s followers following their party’s defeat in general elections.
Strikes and protests, though not normal during the period of transition, can still occur without raising an eyebrow. But when protests radically change into destructive and murderous conduct almost immediately upon the new Government’s assumption of power, and continue sporadically thereafter, the rational mind sees something quite different: powerful political instigators are hell bent on seeing their followers imbibe the former narrative of reality in Guyana.
Part of that narrative of reality is that the present Government has no legitimacy, because its ascension to power had been orchestrated by riggers sympathetic to the PPP. Another component of that narrative is that Afro-Guyanese are a marginalised group in the country. This story is both comical and ironical. Comical because the whole world knows that not an iota of truth inhabits the story of fraud on the part of the PPP and the narrative of the marginalisation of Blacks in Guyana.
Ironical, a plethora of documented evidence indicates that it was really APNU, through the obstructionist conduct of a well-oiled but ill-fated cabal, that attempted to hijack the elections. However, APNU followers have so fully absorbed the story of oppression, discrimination and inequalities that they have crossed into a new frontier of indecency and shamelessness. At a time when the new Government is doing everything to redress the unprecedented levels of poverty and suffering brought about by an inept and corrupt APNU while in Government, and when Guyana is reeling from a global pandemic as the rest of the world is, nurses in public hospitals recently staged protests for better pay and better working conditions. It is as if the oath that they took and vowed to uphold could be trifled with without no impact. They ought to have been cognisant of the fact that unless there were compelling reasons, what they have opted to do could be considered a breach of their oath. Inhabiting the centre of that oath is making the patient’s wellness paramount.
Not that nurses don’t have the right to protest against unsafe working conditions and inadequate pay; they do. As they are not disposable, they should not be prevented from making demands in terms of adequate compensation and safety simply because they are nurses tied to an oath. An oath may be sacred and constraining, but it is not an albatross that shackles anyone to wretchedness.
However, when the process is abrupt, and when the mechanism established for the purpose dealing with such issues has been disregarded, serious ethical questions come to the fore. Are the circumstances that led to their actions that compelling? Or are the protesters following the dictates of partisan politics? Those familiar with APNU’s methodology of dealing with its defeat at the polls will not find it difficult to appreciate how central politics is to the actions of the nurses.
By pandering to political overtures whose purpose is to embarrass and destabilise the new Government, they have thrown their professional work into disrepute. And by so doing, they have compromised a sacred oath in regard to making the wellbeing of their patients the cornerstone of their professional work. This is especially reprehensible in the wake of COVID-19, which has everyone on edge.
Needless to say, the nurses’ demands have angered many in the country and in the diaspora, not necessarily because of what they are demanding, even though many contend that they are disingenuous about the whole thing. One of the bases of this contention is the apparent correlation between the timing of the nurses’ demands and APNU’s loss of power, coupled with its constant tirades against the Government.
The spectacle of violence and other destructive behaviours are what citizens unfortunately have come to expect whenever the PNC has suffered a loss at the polls. None of the unwholesome things that happened recently has been re-engineered by APNU. A template was created by the PNC. APNU is following that model most faithfully.
Sincerely,
Sheik Ayube
