My Countrymen.
Justice!
Is that possible for the poor in Guyana?
I was moved some months ago as I read a commentary of a
letter writer in the Kaieteur News. “A man with a placard stood in front of the
office of the Minister of Home Affairs.”
He was wronged in some way. I do not what was his
bereavement. Whatever it was, he felt compelled to take up the injustice in the
public’s eye. His lone demonstration probably did not move anyone.
I was touched by his effort in trying to correct a wrong
that was done to him. And there was no one who could help him. For my country
has lost the pulse of its heart. Dead. Dead to Justice.
Even the government of the people disrespected him.
That Sunday, I went to church. There I was going to hear a
sermon, which can only be grasped as a revelation.
“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God
nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him
with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he
refused……………” It is a parable taken from
the Book of Luke, Chapter 18.
Dead to Justice. We were never this way as a colony. Our
Justices, Judges, Magistrates and Lawyers were citizens who prided themselves in
the practices of the rule of law. Well
organized courts, a place where citizens appeared for justice – the poor and
the wealthy. Our judges knew the laws of the land as if committed to memory.
And they ruled with a conscience guided by the statutes of God.
Politics of the fifties, assaulted that pillar of society.
The Pillar of the Law. First, they demanded the police force refused the
commands of the Colonial Powers. That simple request. At a time in our troubled
history placed us squarely on the avenue of recklessness. Those who watched
over our communities were compromised. And a thing like the Wismar Massacre did
happen.
Indiscretions made it easier for President Burnham to
control the Police Force to suit his agenda. And the country spiralled into
criminal acts on a large scale. Thieves designated their categories –Kitchen
Thieves, Clothes Line Thieves, and so on and so on. Like the people were psychologically damaged.
The lack of the basic necessities forced the impoverished to do wrong to their
fellow villagers.
Under the watch of President Hoyte, the society gained some
grounds on fighting crime. It was like a breath of fresh air. Excellent but short lived.
And once again, we are bombarded with crimes. But this time,
much more horrendous. All of this took place under the watch of Presidents
Cheddie Jagan, Samuel Hinds, Janet Jagan, Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar.
Today, even government officials flaunt the laws of the land.
The guardians of the Laws which is the government have
become lawless themselves. They compromised the laws of the land. Their
subordinates who are the judges, the magistrates and the lawyers acts as if
their decisions are final. Who dare to question them? Don’t ever wait for a
written response to an enquiry, the citizen will grow old. There are no
recourses for the citizens.
The government doan care.
When there is no justice, anarchy waits round the bend. Fear
and vindictiveness in the courts will hurry it along even quicker.
Such unfair practices upon the poor must come to an end. It
has been said, “The arm of God is long and moves very slow, but eventually He
will take hold of the ungodly.” That is
a promise of the Parable in Luke 18.
A change of those faces that govern is necessary. Guyana
needs God fearing individuals to govern. Mediocre governance breathes contempt
in all facets of a society.
It is important the social malaise not be viewed as an
epidemic in ethnic groups but rather in the wider scope of all Guyanese.
Citizens are never to be powerless.
Be cognizant of your collective might.
And, at the end of days of this regime, just as the one they
replaced, their faces will only be images of bad governances.
Future is in the hands of the beholder. My countrymen behold your future.
Sincerely,
Velutha Kuttapen.
www.timehritoday.blogspot.com
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