Dear Editor,
Twice within weeks, I have been forced to use the word disgraceful and the reasons being that the situation in Guyana is so appalling that the only description that can best describe it is the use of that single word, disgraceful!
Last Friday, D’Urban Street, Georgetown became the scene of another deadly confrontation between armed thieves and law enforcement.
Two bandits were shot dead, stopped short in their tracks in the act of committing a crime. This latest incident came fast on the heels of a deadly shootout mere months ago in another ward of the city.
Now, I would like you to contrast the above occurrences with the circumstances of some other folks right here within the city limits, I speak of those greens sellers in and around the Bourda Market area. These are ordinary people like anybody else, trying their level best to eke out a living selling from the back of their vehicles. Those farmers, after paying the council fees, were given permission to sell their produce for a meagre four hours per day. However, soon after that they were faced with eviction from that area; very soon after the collection of their fees, these farmers were told that they were illegal sellers and trespassers on the city’s streets.
The forceful removal of the predominantly Indian vegetable farmers from selling along Alexander Street is an act of extreme provocation. It is a discriminatory and unconscionable act meted out to those farmers by City Council staff. The Georgetown City Council is continuing along the same path of Central Government, who revel in the thought of hurting a certain select group of people. These vendors have now joined the ranks of thousands of their counterparts in the sugar belt in being snuffed out of existence and the right to survive. This is outrageously evil!
I want you to consider the aggravation, that state of being pushed over the limit for doing something that is perfectly normal, perfectly legal. That state of being totally provoked is enough to cause one to turn to a life of crime, but they would not! These people could have easily taken up arms like the thieves of D’Urban Street, but they would not! They could have easily resorted to a life of crime, but again they would not. They are like true patriots, hardworking people who would rather tough it out each day and somehow create a niche where they can survive against the odds. Though discriminated against, these people are showing the grit and determination that oppressed people show under extreme and trying circumstances. These are persons who have families to take care of, mortgages to service, while at the same time send their children to school. These mounting costs are almost unbearable, but as persons of character they rally on.
They are weathering the onslaught of an uncaring, heavy-handed, blatantly-biased regime and their operators.
Well then, President Granger and his PNC-led coalition should be utterly ashamed of themselves seeing these goings-on are taking place right here in the seat of Government and all we can get is this bland token response “we are concerned about the crime situation” and nothing else. What about ensuring the safety of your citizens? Where are the signs of the “good life?” Where is the hope for the youths?
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
