Dear Editor,
When the two young police recruits, Paul Slowe and Winston Felix, at their swearing in ceremony pledged to “discharge the duties of their office without favour or affection, malice or ill-will,” theirs was not a ritualistic repetition of the words in that oath. Theirs was a pledge taken very seriously, very consciously, and very conscientiously. The circumstances surrounding their final days as members of the force, decades after that pledge, is evidence of their unwavering commitment to values that are becoming old fashioned among many in law enforcement today.
I only met Paul Slowe once. That was almost 30 years ago, and the meeting was not formal. There was a security situation in the country, or it might have been a security exercise, but as often occurred during those occasions all entry and exit to Police Headquarters, Eve Leary was through the gates of the Tactical Services Unit. There were guards at the gate, and everyone entering was being checked to verify their identity. As I attempted to enter through the gates I was scrutinized by Paul Slowe, who clearly was not familiar with me. However, another NCO on duty at the gate was, and he said to Slowe, “Man, don’t you know so and so.” Clearly he did not, but that had to be an exception. You see, Paul Slowe probably knew more policemen than any other rank at the time. And my understanding is that he was positioned there at the gate because of his ability to identify and recognize who was a member of the force, and who was not.
Policemen in barrack rooms tended to be very candid when reviewing the abilities and personalities of their colleagues. The description “so and so is a good policeman,” or “so and so know police work” represented accolades of the highest order in the Guyana Police Force. The fact that on many occasions those accolades were flowing from the mouths of ranks who might have never met the recipients spoke volumes about the estimation in which they were held by the rank and file of the service, and their reputations among their colleagues. Paul Slowe was a popular recipient of such accolades, and more. He was also a drill master and a marksman.
I weep for our country, I really do. I weep for the waste that has categorized the past 18 years of our existence. The waste of talent, of ability, of intelligence, and its replacement with sycophancy, nepotism, and all the negative human traits our imagination can conjure up. I weep for the sacrifices of our youth, the deprivations we willingly endured at remote locations, being bitten by vampire bats on a nightly basis, or having to mould flour into the meat-like substance known as ‘glutton’ in order to provide an illusion of protein in the stew we were making. I weep for the fact that we have become a nation of a one-sided story, a one-sided history, where the honour and grace that have characterized the service of many in law enforcement prior to 1992 have been cast into the partisan dustbins of political expediency. The fact that Paul Slowe has languished 11 years in his current rank while others infinitely less deserving have been elevated in rank, symbolizes the dystopian trend in our nation’s direction over the past 18 years.
God’s grace on Paul’s retirement. His service as a policeman epitomizes the convictions expressed in this quote by Margaret Chase Smith, an American Senator who lived between 1897 and 1995: “My creed is that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration, that constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honour is to be earned, not bought.”
Had that creed been popular with the political leadership in Guyana, the Guyana Police Force would have been eons ahead of where they are at, in terms of professionalism, dependability, dedication and incorruptibility.
Yours faithfully,
Robin Williams
