Dear Editor,
As sickening and as repulsive as I find the Home Affairs Minister’s recent remark that Guyanese are not as concerned about torture as they are about where their next meal is coming from, I think that the statement itself may well be an important wake-up call to a large segment of the population. The statement proves that the government is basing its decision about what its response should be to this kind of abuse and injustice on what it perceives to be the extent of the people’s reaction and show of concern. The wake-up call then is that, for a large segment of the population, the time has come to stand up and let their voices be heard in protest against the atrocities that the government and its surrogate the police force are perpetrating against them. The minister’s statement exemplifies the reason the eighteenth century philosopher Edmund Burke stated, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”.
Rohee seems to be justifying the government’s lack of a proper investigation into allegations of the torture of the two Buxton men by what he perceives as a lack of interest on the part of most Guyanese into learning more about what happened to the two men while in police custody. He substantiates this perceived lack of interest by some “walk about” he has done where he asked people what were their concerns. I have no idea where he did his “walk about” but I would be shocked if he went anywhere near Buxton. Wherever it was, if evidence was ever needed that silence on the people’s part contributes to the problem, this is it.
Guyanese cannot continue to hold government accountable for its behaviour if they have not been accountable for raising their voices against that behaviour. If the segment of the Guyanese population most affected by government abuses and injustices decide not to raise their voices in protest, then they must recognize that they are contributing to the problem. The minister’s remarks are testimony that the government takes silence for consent and the people must be aware that they give up their right to protest by remaining silent.
I read SN online everyday and the voices in the letter column are remarkably strong, in spite of the iron fist being imposed by the government to silence the newspaper. For this I say kudos to SN and to those letter writers. Together, you must keep the issues alive. But it cannot stop there. The voices must now be heard in the streets. The torture of the Buxton two, the shooting of Donna Herod, the assassination of Ronald Waddell and the many, many more atrocities must not go unquestioned and without protest. Mr Rohee is saying that you the Guyanese people don’t care about these things. It’s almost like a taunt. Doesn’t he realize that Guyanese being more concerned about their survival than preservation of their human rights is no badge of government achievement but bespeaks the dire conditions they are being forced to live under?
It’s like a catch 22 situation, they make it so bad for you that you are rendered, to use the words of the old Clarence Carter song, “too weak to fight”, then they turn around and say, “look they are not even fighting back, it means they don’t care.” The Guyanese people must rise up, organize and take back their freedom.
Your faithfully,
Stafford Wills
