Dear Editor,
I had this awesome experience which I just could not keep to myself. I went to Anna Regina earlier this week and it was a very fulfilling experience. Commuters know the route from Georgetown to Parika and then from Parika to Supenaam – well the scenery in the Essequibo River from Parika to Supenaam is always splendid, even when the water is ‘rough.’
Anyway, we took a taxi from Supenaam to Anna Regina and visited a few schools along the way, and I must say that I did not hear one student at any of those schools using profanity (at least not loud enough for me to hear).
The taxi driver – well, he knew everybody. He knew exactly where to take us for what must be the ‘best mauby’ on the coast. Then he took us for a custom-made lunch. We ordered a half food, and got half of the half food in blackeye peas cook-up rice with fried chicken; the other half was corilla and chicken with rice. I even got a steel spoon and fork and a plastic spoon too – no knife, but that was ok; I still had a range of utensils from which to choose. Oh, and by the way, the food was great!
My point, however, is the peace, tranquillity and serenity on the Essequibo Coast. Most people had smiles on their faces. The atmosphere was very different from Georgetown and some other parts of the country. It was as though I was in another country. It reminded me of a conversation I had with an African colleague as I was telling him about Guyana – the pristine forest, fresh water, lots of land and beautiful people, and his response to me was very funny but sincere; he said, “you must be have a king.” So I had to ask the taxi driver if they had a king, because the environment was as though it was a kingdom.
On our way back, a boat had stopped in the river and the captain of the one that I was in, stopped also, to inquire whether everything was okay, and then on discovering that all was well, they both proceeded in opposite directions (mini-bus drivers should take note of the river-friendly behaviour and be more road-friendly) – good citizenship!
Really Editor! It was almost as if this place was a ‘kingdom,’ so I have renamed it ‘Kingdom Essequibo’ (at least the part between Supenaam and Charity). I would like to encourage my fellow Guyanese to go, visit Essequibo Coast with their families and friends and experience the peace, tranquillity and beauty of another part of the country. The residents on the Essequibo Coast have something that is wonderful and beautiful; they should guard it, protect it and work hard to maintain it. I am definitely coming back to spend more than one day to enjoy it!
I now understand a little better what the songwriter, George Noel meant when he wrote the national song, ‘To Serve My Country’: “Guyana! I want to serve my country! Guyana! Beautiful, happy and free! Guyana! Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmmm… To help develop, Guyana the Free!”
The Desiderata says, “…with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world…be careful, strive to be happy!”
Finally, I would like encourage the media to start a good citizenship campaign. While there are lots of negatives around us, every day there are persons in our society who are showing good citizenship in one way or another.
Can we show more recognition for these acts? Maybe the members of the media can start by having citizens send them the information. We need balance and we need the media to help us have that balance.
Yours faithfully,
Audreyanna Thomas
