Dear Editor,
Not so long ago I got a look-see at the much talked about New Diamond Housing Scheme, and I have to say that it is indeed big, and I mean real big ‒ no playing. The only other housing scheme I could think about to compare it with was that ever expanding Amelia’s Ward at Linden ‒ I was made to understand that Parfaite Harmonie which I’m yet to see is equally large, if not larger, with elaborate and wonderfully built houses. But for heaven’s sake may I say from the start that there is need for a sidewalk/pavement along that main road taking you into Diamond, and also more pedestrian crossing signs apart from those placed next to schools.
This scheme is sectionalised: high income, middle income and low income earners, but it was the houses of the high income earners that caught my attention. To begin with there is one thing that there is no denying: the majority of these houses are elegantly crafted with a touch of class, though the roofs are generally of a similar type except for a few. In terms of Guyana dollars these are an exhibition of real money! And oh! some owners certainly have a taste for aesthetics; there are wonderful flowers, plants, beautifully designed lawns, gates that function automatically ‒ diamonds indeed. And I did come across those smug ones with their silly and conceited attitude.
Surprisingly the streets are not well lit, though quite a number of houses have a lamp directly in front, which I was told was bought and installed by the residents themselves, since GPL does not provide such a service. And it doesn’t seem right that in a place like that the streets would be in such a ridiculous and deplorable condition.
A curious thing is that you hardly see people in these houses, be it night or day, as if they are on holiday. Once in a while and moreso at night you may notice a solitary figure on the veranda or peeking through a window, and of course a vehicle or vehicles parked somewhere and the sound of barking dogs ‒ the security detail. A good gauge for ascertaining our crime level, is to pay attention to how homes are grilled up because the residents feel insecure. Like cattle in a corral, we are barricaded in our homes, but one does understand somewhat why high income folks don’t give a toss about anything; with their blinders on any number can play until a contrary breeze begins to blow and the music become undanceable. And I wondered aloud come elections whether politicians will be keeping public meetings in this particular section, since many of them ‒ except for those soundly cemented to the establishment ‒ don’t give a damn who sits where.
On a sore note there are a few large plots of land that were purchased by people who it seems have no immediate use for them, thus these plots have become overgrown with a bush-like jungle. They are a hazard for those unfortunate enough to be living nearby; there are other enclosed empty lots, although when you see how costly and superbly designed the fences are with their massively constructed columns, you know for sure the kind of structure that is going to be built there. But remember, this is a high income area, and rightly so for you have to cut the bush, keep the drains/trenches, parapet clean and in shape, and repair the roads by filling up those deep and wide craters. Being a resident there means taking care of everything yourself ‒ definitely not for low-income folks. Now there are some fairly modest nicely built houses sprinkled among those grand edifices, but which would be comical in comparison, but I conclude from what I was told that the owners are the ones who got lucky by default.
Now I met someone who kind of
dismissed this Diamond high income section and recommended that I see Pradoville. I’ve never seen either One or Two, but if one is to go by what is being said about the houses being built there being mainly the residences of top functionaries, government ministers, big business folks, etc, then one can allow for an infinite journey of the imagination, and whatever the imagination conjures up, I’m willing to bet will not be an exaggeration. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the least way against a good life; I think that it is right and natural for anyone and everyone to want to enjoy the best life has to offer. Everyone longs for a life of “paradisiacal delectability,” thus given the chance we would try and wrest things our way. But we do know better ‒ that it is a natural and automatic arrangement and was never intended to be that way.
So you see why this country and its politics boggles the mind of strangers ‒ we are an enigma. Every day you see more and more massive construction taking place, and you can’t say nothing is happening; things are happening! But the conditions of the ordinary working man, the everyday people are not in stride or in any way near to such development. We still have people with families working for wages below the minimum wage, who are miserably exploited, who can’t do anything better and so must make do with $4,000/$5,000 per week. As African American folks are fond of saying: you have to run twice as fast to remain in the same spot. And so it is with the working class folks here in Guyana today.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
