Guyana's aged Foreign Service

H.E. Fredrick Hamley Case presenting his letters of credence to H.E. Queen Elizabeth II as he assumes the post of Guyana's High Commissionner to the United Kingdom on Thursday 10th June, 2016. (taken from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana website)

Ambassador Cheryl Miles presents her credentials to Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro (Taken from Kaieteur News May 8, 2016)

WOW just wow! I guess the hair color is part of the requirements for the job...not discounting his years of experience and whatever else. It quite understandable that Guyana needs to have its best at the fore of it Foreign Missions, but at the same time why are our best old and recycled public servants. 


There can be at least two reasons or even a combination of both. The first being, that the previous caliber of diplomats and heads of missions have not passed on their wealth of experience to those working under their direction and whom should have been given the opportunity to understudy them to maintain the quality of diplomats we had in the earlier years after independence in 1966. If anyone did any kind of research on the early years of Guyana's foreign service they will see the high quality of persons led the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) that once established our strong and highly respected position in the international community. Such persons include the likes of Rashleigh E. Jackson and Sir Shridath Ramphal. It is quite a shame we have not been able to rejuvenate such quality in the Foreign Service to date. Secondly, clearly over a long period the MFA has not been retaining and or hiring employees with a background or at least a first degree in international Relations (IR)….So much for all those IR students who graduate every year from the University of Guyana. It is wonderful to have people who are qualified in the areas that Guyana wants its foreign service to focus on (such as economics and trade, renewable energy, etc.) but if it does not have diplomats and heads of missions who do not understand how the international system evolved and the framework it operates in they are doomed to fail.

However, it seems like we have resorted to bringing the retired out of retirement. One can only hope that the retired folks who are back will not let history repeat itself.

‪#‎dearlandofguyana ‪#‎guyanaat50 ‪#‎lifeofanIRstudent ‪#‎struggles

Guyanese Youths at Caribbean Catholic Youth Assembly

The AECYA 2012 is probably the most trending topic these days on the lips of most Caribbean Catholic Youths. The acronym means Antilles Episcopal Conference Youth Assembly. Guyanese would have heard a lot of the Antilles Episcopal conference (AEC) last April as the eyes of the Caribbean were on Guyana as we hosted the Bishops of the Caribbean that are part of the conference.  Now those eyes will be turn to St. Lucia as they host over one thousand young people for the IV AECYA, from July 19-30, 2012.

Guyana like other territories has been preparing its young people for the assembly. The Guyana contingent includes 25 youths; 6 from the Cathedral, 5 St. Pius X, 3 Our Lady of the Mount (Meadow Bank), 2 Our lady of Fatima, 2 Sacred Heart; and one each from Holy Spirit, Holy Rosary, St. Teresa’s, St. Jerome (Supply), Lethem, our Diocesan Youth Coordinator Ms. Tracy Williams and Br. Stefan Garcia SJ. Added to the list is His Lordship Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB himself who will be accompanying the Contingent.

Each country has been task with showcasing its culture through food and a stage performance of some kind. Our stage performance includes; folksongs and dancing which is being choreographed by Ms. Vivian Daniels of the National Dance School, with a specific focus on Domestic Violence, a campaign which our Diocese has embarked on. Those participating have been preparing spiritually as well through a method of Prayer called Lectio Divina, which uses scripture to facilitate prayer. Guyana’s pilgrims have been meeting every Thursday at Bishop’s House to pray, Learn about our faith and history, and to Share ideas and plans for the assembly.

In order to assure Guyana’s attendance at the IV AECYA the contingent has continuously been raising funds, since the cost of the airfare per person is GY$109,000 and registration per person is GY$45,000. Take-away lunches, hot dog and ice-cream sales, bake sales among many other efforts have been the undertakings of the participants on pilgrimage to the AECYA, to finance the travel expenses. The contingent has even sensitised the Guyanese society of the event via a radio interview and other media to garner support and sponsorship.

The Theme for this year’s AECYA is “Your Word is a Lamp for my Steps and a Light for my Path” (Psalm 119 (118):105. The Sub-theme is: The Word of God Shaping the Lives of our Youth. The AECYA seeks to help Catholic youth and young adults re-affirm their Catholic identity, build friendships and experience the wider church in the region. The first Youth assembly was held in Curacao in 1999 then Trinidad in 2003, and the last was Jamaica in 2009.

Academics in politics

The University of Guyana; Turkeyen Campus, the highest tertiary institution of this land hosted the Presidential candidates discourse as a means to:
1.    provide an opportunity for the political parties contesting the national general elections to present their party’s position on issues of national development, in particular those which apply to young people
2.    provide a forum for discussion and interaction between the University community and the presidential candidates.

The discourse included candidates of four political parties; the Alliance for Change (AFC), A Partnership of National Unity (APNU), People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and The United Force (TUF.) Students and staff of the University filled the George Walcott Lecture Theatre beyond it capacity. There was virtually no standing room in the audience. Many Ministers of Government, representatives of political parties, International dignitaries and media and news agencies were there to witness this historic event.

Students were urge in advance to be present at this event with an open mind to hear what each candidate had to say and offer. As Candidates entered the Lecture Theatre they applauded for the one of their choice. When all Candidates were seated Students began to shout, "Granger! Granger!" while another set shouted, "Danger! Danger!" This all went on for quite some time, with party reps prompting students to shout and "perform" as Guyanese say.

Guidelines and rules for both candidates and audience were read before the discourse began. Persons present were even told that if heckling and other gestures were deemed unfit they would be asked to remove from the threatre by the police. To my great surprise, students began to shout and scream and throw derogatory remarks to the presidential candidates. It may be one of the worst events I have ever went to.

The fact that it was University students behaving in this manner, in the presence of dignitaries and the media(which would mean that the discourse would reach the public) diminished and reduced the Presidential Discourse to nothing but a "Ghetto yard buse out."

Some persons indicated that they would've actually been surprised if the students had actually behaved and conducted themselves better. This made me think as to why would one say such a thing. But it's true! Some Guyanese are used to shouting and screaming at each other to get their point across. Parents Shout and raise their voices at their Children and tell them all sorts of stuff.

When persons enter into a University they must realise that they are entering a realm of academics, and as such much must behave like an academic. Like a person with a critical mind and one who listens and analyse information and uses wisdom garnered from research. But most of all as an Academic reaches for Intellectual heights, he must also reach for high value and morals in his behaviour.
 

Literacy a thing of the past???

At times i wonder how can Guyana's literacy rate move from the highest in the Caribbean to the lowest. While trying to figure this out there are quite a few factors that cause this problem of illiteracy.
Guyana without a doubt has a literacy problem. The National Library's main branch has a book club where children meet once a month to discuss books that are relevant for their age. They are given a book to read for one month and meet once per month as a group in their age category at the Library to discuss the book they were assigned. Unfortunately not much of discussion is done since the children don't read their books.

Now, I always wondered why it was so hard for these children the engage in a discussion, then i realised it could have meant that they didn't understand what they were reading. So i asked a few of them to read excerpts from the book and there i heard the true problem. They could not read! Children at the grade 5 and 6 level, who are about to write the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA.) could not read. Some were just calling words and couldn't understand anything they were reading. This was just a small sample of children from Georgetown imagine what it was like outside of the city where the resources are less than in the city.
Can you imagine a nation of illiterate people?

In further analysis of the quality of education in Guyana, I realise that private school student generally perform much better than public schools. Without a doubt the top student always comes from the public school system. But what must be noted is that not many students of a high standard is produced by the public schools.

Class numbers in any given public school would be between 50-60 students. How can a teacher produce the quality student he/she is required to? People in Guyana always lament the fact that since the government of the 70's took over all the schools from the Catholic church and other faiths, and made all schools co-ed, the education system has declined rapidly.

There are so many reasons one can find for this problem but not as many solutions. But infact there are some very simple ones. Persons can easily voluntary at the National Library or at an orphanage or children institutions. Churches can open Libraries and do a bit of reading for children, youth groups and youth organisations can host elocution contests, spelling bees, and the list goes on. If everyone plays a part Guyanese children will benefit and we'll have a brighter future.

Race vs. Ethnicity

As a Guyanese you realise that everyone suddenly become conscious of their race and ethnicity and of the other people around them at elections time. The same “ole talk” every five years about PPP\C (The “coolie” people party) and PNC/R (The “black” people party.) People can get so deep into conversation about politics in Guyana that they don’t realise that they spend all day talking about it and get almost no work done in the office or elsewhere.

The race factor in politics is said to be more prevalent among the older generation. Without a doubt some of it is filtered down to the younger generation. The Guyanese populace speak of race and ethnicity as if it’s the same thing. The races that came to Guyana during its history are the Amerindians, Europeans, Africans, East Indians, Chinese and Portuguese. I wonder to myself if after almost 200 years of slavery and indentureship, do we still have races of people in Guyana. We have a population of just under (800,000) eight hundred thousand, with so much diversity......And people not mixed up? People in Guyana are so mixed that at times you can’t tell that they are of a particular race. For instance I may look like an East Indian, but in fact my dad has a mixture of African and East Indian descent and my mom African, East Indian and Portuguese. So what am I? How do I fit into a race of people? Thank God at least I can say I’m Guyanese. The point here is that there is almost virtually no pure race in this country. Well....maybe except for the Indigenous people who live in isolation for the most part in the (Rain Forest) interior.

Now that the word race has been dealt with let’s try ethnicity. This word sometimes can get you into trouble, depending on who you engage it with. Imagine me a mixed person, looking mostly East Indian by my appearance, filling a form or someone asks my ethnicity, and I say Chinese.......they would watch me as if I’m mad! “A coolie boy like you is Chinese?”, would be the norm to ask. But ones ethnicity is not determined by which part of the world their ancestors came from or who their family are or religion is. It’s determined by their environment and the things they appreciate. In essence it’s our choice! We choose our own ethnicity; I can be an Amerindians or even mixed up like a Cookup as Guyanese declare, and say that my ethnicity is European. The fact that my favourite dish, clothing and behaviour may reflect that of a European, my ethnicity is as such.

I just hope that we become true Guyanese ASAP and work towards our motto, “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.”

My Land!

Think of a Land of gentle streams, winding creeks and roaring waterfalls. Think of a land of mighty Mountain Ranges which force man to think twice of seeking what is beyond. Think of a land where fierce Jaguars roam freely as if in a dominion of his sovereignty. A land guarded for thousands of years by those who seek to retain the sanctity of nature. A land sought by the affluent nations for the Lost City of Gold "El Dorado." A land that produce "Sweetness" which made the eye of the powerful greedy to cause tears, bondage, bloodshed, death, and immense evil. A land that entice people from all ends of the earth to seek its "sweetness and worth." A place of diverse beauty in its geography, flora, fauna, people and culture. It is in this chaos of diversity that a Nation is defined, born and grows into a force to be reckoned with. A Nation is only as powerful as every citizen it has. Still it's people are plagued by the demons of their "foreign masters." The plague of Injustice. The Plague of Racism. The plague of inequality, suppression of free speech, and dirty politics. In spite of these plagues and its own evils, there is hope in its young ones, to take this land into the next age of hope, prosperity and unity. The Land of Guyana!