On Thursday, Guyana will join with other countries in various parts of the world in celebrating Emancipation. For the slaves, the road to freedom was long and arduous having been kept in bondage and forced to endure inhumane conditions as unimaginable atrocities were meted out to them. But freedom did dawn with the expectation that the mental and economic shackles be forever banished.
Unfortunately, over time, the shackles manifested themselves differently, as others are still being forced into situations that enchain them from opportunities for advancement. Obviously, this can never be compared to the dreadful and cruel blot on humanity that slavery was. With growing disparity across the world, millions are being dumped further into poverty even as they relentlessly struggle to eke out an existence.
A natural characteristic of mankind is to seek opportunities for self-improvement to be better positioned to mitigate life’s ongoing challenges. This is painfully demonstrated by migrants taking to the seas and refugees trapped in lands while wallowing in despair. In these circumstances, their dignity is snatched as they are forced to be consumed with mere survival as the world appears to be closing in on them.
This is the reality in a now modern and constantly evolving world, more than eighteen decades after emancipation. What continues to be both bewildering and unacceptable, is that many of the current global situations can be easily addressed or even avoided in some cases. This, however, does not take away from the complexities of others, taking into consideration pertinent factors.
With that in mind, even a cursory examination of some of what transpired here in Guyana over the recent years could be seen as a manifestation of the points made. The current Government, while on the campaign trail for the 2015 elections, had vehemently articulated to the effect that Guyanese were experiencing tremendous difficulties. It pointed fingers to the then administration claiming that it seemed oblivious or disinterested while making accusations of preferential treatment.
The counter arguments were that the country was basking in unprecedented development and sustained economic growth evident from the advancement of ordinary Guyanese and the rebuilding of the social and physical infrastructure.
During that period, the business climate was seen as very healthy and job creation and employment high. Today, the situation seemed reversed as many jobs have been lost.
But how is this relevant within the context of current day shackles on human development? The obvious answer is that all administrations are expected to derive innovative mechanisms for the creation of enabling environments to help spur economic activities for human advancement. While this is largely dependent on the availability of resources, crucial is having a holistic vision that is not rooted in political partisanship.
This is where contentions fiercely aroused after the 2015 elections, when some two thousand Amerindian Community workers were relieved, thereby, being deprived of earnings. Similarly, and this has been extensively dealt with, the closure of estates that led to the terminations of thousands of sugar workers. Those actions, accused of being executed without any proper assessment and contingency plan to buffer the consequences, have plunged many thousands further into poverty.
By the same stroke of the brush, the harsh reality is that the ability of those affected to try and scale the walls of poverty suddenly found an anchor fastened to their ankles. The effect of this now imposed immobility is not just confined to the affected workers, but to their families and the many who depended on such industries. Many are now trapped and that would naturally infuse humiliation as dignity evaporates after being rendered unable to provide for their families.
The mental and economic enchainment which have been swiftly derived may prolong, thereby, exacerbating despondency as avenues for a way out seem non-existent with the immense potential to erode willpower. This, in the local context, epitomises the fact that some of what broadsides humanity may be preventable through a more prudent, humane and bipartisan approach to policy making.
