“We are working every day to make the lives of all Guyanese better” – Pres Ali

…says challenges not there to mope about, but to confront

On the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, President Dr Irfaan Ali has assured that the Government is hard at work making everyone’s lives better and that existing challenges are there to be confronted.
The Head of State also believes that in multicultural Guyana, the lessons of the holiday have bearing across all walks of life.

President Ali addressed Islam devotees at the Muslim Youth Organisation of Guyana (MYO) lawns. According to him, the lessons of Ramadan will help Guyanese to uplift the society they live in for the benefit of all. Further, he said it would help reinforce the values that shape Guyanese society.
“In a multi-ethnic, multicultural society like ours, it is important. We are blessed with shared religious values and context of each faith, if we apply those values and contexts in our everyday life, in the way we treat each other, in the way we treat the environment, in the way we speak, in the way we uplift each other,” the Head of State said during Eid-ul-Fitr Salat observances.
“Then we will achieve what Prophet Mohamed wanted us to achieve. In his final sermon, he chose a topic that is so important to the world today. In that final sermon, he could have chosen anything to speak about. But what did he concentrate on?”
According to Ali, the prophet concentrated on the oneness of humanity and the fact that people are not as different from each other as they may believe, “regardless of our colour, which part of the world we are from, regardless of status, that we are one of the same family”.
Ali further noted that though there were challenges, those challenges were not there to mope about, but rather to confront. He assured that the Government was working hard every day, to make the lives of all Guyanese better.
“On behalf of the Government of Guyana, I assure you that we will continue to work hard every day. That we will continue to sacrifice every day. And yes, there are challenges in our society. There are challenges in different areas of governance.
“But those challenges are there, not for us to mope about, but for us to confront and overcome, so that we can build a stronger society. A society in which we can deliver better to the people of this country.”
Eid-ul-Fitr is a celebration which marks the end of Ramadan, a period where Muslims abstain from eating, smoking and other activities from dawn to sunset. Muslims not only celebrate the end of fasting, but also give thanks for being able to maintain that fast throughout Ramadan.
Meanwhile, Head of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), Sheikh Moen ul-Hack, echoed President Ali’s message on the applicability of Eid-ul-Fitr’s message of kindness and gratefulness.
“Let us continue to exemplify this behaviour and this kindness… we must be grateful to Allah for his bounties. We share a way of life which teaches us optimism, to be happy, not heedless. To be grateful, not greedy. To see the best in everything and in every situation. And to be able to say praise be to Allah, in every situation,” he said. (G3)