Dear Editor,
I write this letter in the capacity as a coordinator of ACDA-RESCU; a group, self-funded and with help from friends, that carries out an information interaction on substance abuse. Our target is to reach young non-smokers and drinkers, this letter however is not about RESCU, but rather reflects on its outreach agenda. The hydra that was callously allowed to grow, that inevitably exploded in the recent prison riot that cost 17 lives and has affected so many others, with damage of mind and spirit that cannot be ascertained at this point, must be explored in the interest that blame must be clinically directed and not domesticated to that event exclusively.
- In the first instance, this country has endured its dark age under the PPP where any immorality was officially possible. Nothing was forbidden, every form of corruption was pervasive and ‘the dog’ in the parable, drunk with greed, grasping at the reflective possession in its jaws, foolishly willing to surrender the volume of this nation to wily wolves from abroad, is a relevant metaphor. This sums up the corrupted fraternity that so damaged the management of the people, including the prisons which was met by the then state with even greater indifference. No laws, legal or moral were seen fit to upkeep, at any level as long as loyalty to the cup was affirmed.
- It cannot be disputed that the captured audience of the prisons was seen by some prison officials as a cash crop to supplement their meagre salaries through the sale of drugs, both marijuana and cocaine to prisoners. Prisoners were caught with drugs, so were prison warders. It’s not recent that the prison service has been seen by decision makers as not a serious profession to be trained as correctional officers and more as low grade guards. So what does and did the self-esteem of the average prison warder consist of? I had an uncle [Victor Braithwaite] who worked on the accounts of the Prisons under Edwin France. On a visit to his office in the Brickdam station compound, he was grumbling about the size of the expenditure to feed the volume of prisoners and that it must have included the prison staff and their families. Against my warnings he submitted his findings; started drinking heavily, was dismissed and deteriorated towards his death.
- A retired prison warder friend of mine explained to me that during his service at Mazaruni, when prisoners could not get marijuana to smoke, they reacted terribly and had to be placed in cells. The Prison in Georgetown is a facility of many addicts, everyone who has paid attention to marijuana and cocaine is aware of its
dangers, and when coupled with the added tensions of- A. Overcrowding, B. Filthy conditions, C. Impossibly lengthy periods before trial, [and the usual food problems] what is expected from this mind crushing demolition cocktail?
- The PPP did not think it wise after Baby Arthur in Buxton in 1994 to follow the immediate advice of citizens to address the rising drug problem in Guyana. A drug education policy was never enacted, because they had insipidly seen it as an Afro Guyanese problem. The fantasy follies mystique for substance usage were allowed to grow unchecked. Today our young alcoholic population is embarrassing. To date small official groups and private ones like RESCU are struggling to grasp our children away from the marijuana and pill sellers especially. They are the new targets, schools, young sportsmen and women. Recently an official from a juvenile cricket team at Bachelors Adventure up the East Coast complained to me that a colleague of mine through the arts was trying to sell his young cricketers ganja. This area of education has to be intensified; it’s gotten out of control, with locally grown Frankenstein marijuana, grown in weeks rather than months, on fertilisers and pesticides to meet quick market demand, reaching our young population. The police should be allowed the means and funds to document the amount of violent crimes committed by persons affected by mind-altering substances, and have it published. As well as the impact of drug abuse on children, both male and female, whose mothers and fathers are addicts. That would be for the Ministry of Social Protection. This is the social background against which the growing prison population stands, if this prison upheaval is to be the last, the social collapse engineered by the PPP has to addressed at all levels, and for those engaged with the official responsibility to counter this scourge, their social needs must be facilitated, do not take them for granted.
The current inquiry into the prison disturbances needs to be extended to the person of Clement Rohee and his predecessor to complete a worthwhile historical document, justifying the monies spent, that the public can forever reflect upon without prejudice. In closing, it would be more productive to avoid the committee socialites and usual orthodox formulas, in the selection of persons to constructively interact and affect the prison agenda in its present abnormal state.
Yours faithfully,
Barrington Braithwaite
ACDA-RESCU
