After proudly chalking up eighteen (18) years of this column, non-stop, last Friday, I’m taking one of those “time-outs” to be most brief today.
This is my own realistic narrative of a young Guyanese during his final teenage year – nineteen – this year. You -and leaders of political parties and their Presidential Candidates – might just find my account and some conclusions interesting. Even significant enough to factor in as general elections campaigns “heat up”. So here goes – with the story of young Guyanese, Nyron at nineteen.
Obviously, it means that Nyron was born in 1992. Our Nyron was actually born on 5th October – the day and date of the General Elections which saw the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic coming into government after twenty-eight years of People’s National Congress administrations.
So here we have a young Guyanese, who can qualify to vote for the first time at elections due for later this year. Again obviously, the only government he would have “known”, or “experienced”, is the PPP/C. being quite street-smart as well as academically-inclined our Nyron is quite a relatively “conscious” young man, mindful of the so-called “politics” around him? Especially during his last three years when he began his sixteen-plus (16+).
What are Nyron’s perspectives? What does he think of the political goings-on and what really influences his reasoning and conclusions at nineteen? Before I speculate, let me relate a few other terrible elements which helped to fashion young Nyron’s outlook.
Criminals, crime – and education
Believe it or not, Nyron’s mother is an Afro-Guyanese female Prison Warder. His father is an Indo-Guyanese practising alcoholic, long absentee, and absent from their home. That makes Nyron a Douglah Guyanese citizen.
Now on February 23, 2002, his mom was in the Georgetown Prisons Mash Day Costume and Float Parade on the streets of Georgetown. By mid-afternoon she, with her entire merry-making contingent had their carnival mood devastatingly changed when five notorious criminals wounded and murdered their way out of the Lot 12 Camp Street facility. As we now know, that event heralded an unprecedented crime wave in this country. Criminals hatched a sustained, murderous criminal enterprise in little coastal communities and in the capital itself. They were obviously well organized, with villagers, voluntarily or by force, providing safe-havens, domestic and medical services, disguises and transportation. Nyron heard some grown-ups saying that the bandits had both political and para-military support.
Nyron was perplexed over all of that, for he was just ten (10) years old on break-out day. From the voice and views of his Prison Officer mother, he assimilated lots about the crimes and the government’s responses to the national life-threatening situations. Poor fellow, between age ten and sixteen he had to process evil even as he finished primary school and entered Secondary levels.
But what struck him, even from his single-parent home, was the perspective about local criminals and crime, depending on the race and politics of those sharing and/or publicizing their views. When he was fourteen, he had cause to wonder how some Guyanese could actually rationalize killing of innocents. His mother’s cousin, a young policeman was gunned down in a village. The gunman would later be among the gangs who would massacre innocents at Lusignan and grown-ups at Bartica.
Nyron was absolutely impatient with those in the media; in the University; in certain political parties and even in Courts of Law, as they “intellectualized” over the “reasons and causes” for the savage behaviour of the professional career bandits. Even as a young teen, Nyron knew that any killing, except in dire, self-defence, was murder.
However, it was during that Season of Siege and Fear that Nyron entered Secondary School and did quite well. He was determined to assist his mom by the time he made twenty-one.
He valued education -debate, search for knowledge and (hopefully) truth, the variety of music, art and literature which he had to study and some which he learnt to appreciate on his very own. Since then, the relatively “poor” but proud, Nyron was on his way to becoming a rather cultured and informed citizen.
Youthfully savvy and clever enough to process much of what today’s politicians and other pretenders are saying at this time. No, Nyron is one young, needed, Guyanese voter that they’ll hardly fool.
Politics of deception
Our 19-year old Nyron is a young first-time voter who tries hard to avoid the sordid side and evil nature of racism. Of mixed heritage he has “sided” with his mother’s Afro-roots knowing too little of his father’s Indo-heritage. But he rejects the elements of racism of both sides while trying to embrace whatever ethnic pride he wishes not to cast aside.
In Guyana’s current milieu of lawlessness – by civil society; corruption spawned within officialdom where public office breeds looters of the Public Purse; where national cemeteries are overtaken by disease-friendly garbage dumps and a society where cocaine trafficking has produced the new rich whose tentacles penetrate into commerce, church, police and politics, Nyron knows and recognizes the politics of deception and opportunity as practiced by our political self “aggrandizers”.
He’s been listening to them all. Especially those who would be President. He’s read A.A. Fenty’s hints on how to evaluate the candidates and others. He knows the candidates all will choose running mates. He enjoys the rosy campaign promises. He will choose soon. Knowing that even well-meaning candidates may remain creatures of their respective parties.
The photos on the phones…
I allowed myself to watch at photographs of the nude young female television hostess. She has a lovely body. Not minding even porn I did not find the photos objectionable.
But Frankly Speaking, what I find abhorrent is the act of reproducing the private pictures of the young lady on ‘phones and internet sites. Just why are despicable persons doing that?
As a matter of fact, please tell me more about this fad of posting personal, intimate photographs or videos all over the digital/electronic place. I can guess at some reasons that motivate the young.
However, the young ladies are telling me about military officers intimidating female juniors with such cell-phone “photography”.
I tend to separate private impropriety from public scandalous exhibitions. I’m no paragon of virtue but I abhor the acts of those who now indulge in the recent goings-on. Even if sex has become a spectator sport, let it be for consenting persons. Privately.
Ponder…
*1) Has our society fashioned an enabling environment for incest, rape, buggery, child-abuse and school-children sex?
*2) In which month will general elections be held?
*3) Stand by for the launch of the Fenty’s Book of Proverbs – “A Plate-A Guyana Cookup”
Til next week!
(Comments? allanafenty@yahoo.com)
