Dear Editor,
“As The Dust Settles,” is a 24-minute documentary premiered at the Byron Bay International Film Festival 2013. Every summer, deep in the Nevada desert, a temporary city is created by tens of thousands of people for a week-long celebration known as “Burning Man.” Through a mosaic of personal perspectives from five filmmakers, this participatory documentary reveals an intimate glimpse of what they discovered about love, the environment, the gift economy, reality, art, creativity, and themselves.
As the sun sets in Guyana, the regurgitation of the aftermath of the 2023 Local Government Election would rev the throttle for another battle to provide and prove who lied and who didn’t; who was fair and who was foul in the campaign trail; who won but still left without, versus who is not wondering but won; and who is victorious and who has been vanquished.
As GECOM released preliminary reports merely a day after, statistics show the PPP/C Party is heading for a “landslide” victory, having secured at least 66 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAA). As the dust settles from a battle-less war, the PPP/C Party, all ecstatically but understandably clad in a wave of red with pomp and splendour, humbly shared an exciting moment to rejoice in triumph.
General Secretary of the PPP/C Party, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, in a pensive but not subdued mood, articulated, “This is clearly a wipeout. In the 80 areas, the PPP would have won the majority of the votes. That’s the definition of a massive victory.”
Caught between the uncertainty of subordination and hegemony, a perturbed Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, overwhelmed with acidic alacrity, absurdly spewed a series of accusations and self-praise, all tactless and tasteless in camouflaging a torrid beating (sound trashing?), as the LGE results unfolded to reflect a mammoth loss of 9 LAAs from the 2018 LGE, reducing the PNC’s win to a mere 14 Local Authority Areas from a total of 80.
Refusing to admit that the PPP/C Party has made heavy inroads in their leading contingencies, this significance remains unacknowledged, unacceptable and unrealistic to the illusive leader, who prefers to bask in the fairyland of fantasy. He seeks shelter behind a closed door of complacency while sun tanning under a sky of distortions, lies and excuses, and oiling a bruised ego! The stark reality of facts and figures and proportion and percentages is beyond the realm of comprehension, common sense, or computation. After all, the court has proven that the PNC was, is, and will never be master at mathematics!
“When The Dust Settles” is part of Louise Johnson’s “Show Peace,” a series of lively animated films designed to explore conflict and dispute resolution. This animated short features two neighbouring gophers with very unneighbourly appetites for anger and revenge. By sundown, they have destroyed everything…even their homes. Will they be able to put the pieces back together?
The PNC Party is a typical reminder as a perfect example which portrays the traits of this show, and also the inevitable question can be posed in its true context. A Party which masquerades with fashionable subsidiaries, only to conceal a cover, has found itself disintegrated, with stragglers struggling to stray further.
Reporting from the newspapers, there were two pertinent and punishable comments from its rank and file members, which are combustible to confirm this comment. “To my fellow PNC supporters, if any leader tells you that this LGE was a success for us, tell them they are delusional and they are liars. Do not let another leader lie to you. Time to be honest, time to change the culture of politics.”
Another one was, “Bharrat (Jagdeo) talks about he preliminary, he preliminary. Where is Aubrey Norton? Where [are your] preliminaries? You can’t come out and say about your preliminary and so too man? [You all] get me vex. What about your preliminaries? You have Statements of Poll!”
The division becomes more decisive, damaging and daunting! The PNC’s rudderless leader is grasping at the tiniest of straws in order to keep his head above water. At a recent press conference after the shock and shame, a barefaced Norton continues to grope in the dark, “For us, this is a victory for the people of Guyana. The people of Guyana do not want a one-party State…we see it as a victory not only for the APNU, but for the people of this country.” How can a party speak on behalf of the people of Guyana when he and his Party failed to contest all the constituencies? Further, his Party lost even in areas which the PNC Party challenged! How more pathetic can a leader be? Has he lost his marbles and is mentally challenged?
Utopia is the La La Land where Norton seeks refuge to dream about his wishful thinking. A stubborn but shaky head for the Opposition, confused in a maze and clueless, clawed his way without a GPS while rambling, they’ve “won the war” while losing a few battles. He continued to fool himself and pretend, “[I’m] not deeply concerned… I wouldn’t be worried. What we will do is take our time and ensure that we continue to sensitize people so that by the next election, they [PPP] will diminish….”
The dictionary is scenic with a few relevant and handy words: deranged, insane, unbalanced, etc. In 1854 Reverend William Anderson Scott wrote in his book, ‘Daniel, a Model for Young Men,’ “Whom the Gods would destroy they first make mad.” When will the dust settle, 2025?
Yours respectfully,
Jai Lall
