This is a dysfunctional nation

Dear Editor,

I read Laurie Greenidge’s Nov 25th letter in the Stabroek News captioned ‘Neighbour burns garbage under my bedroom window’ with outrage after learning of such bellicose residents in his community.  Mr Greenidge’s ordeal can only be described in the context of the dysfunction which cripples every aspect of this country.  Dysfunction upends lives, drives emigration and anchors us in poverty.  No doubt Mr Greenidge’s letter resonates widely.

I too can relate to Mr Greenidge’s experience.  Although I no longer live in this country, I still have memories of my dysfunctional neighbours who dumped garbage on my parapet, blared loud music from the wee hours, damaged my property, burglarized my home and pumped a bullet into a family member.

They even conspired in cover up their attempts and labelled me evil when I mobilized the police.  What dysfunction!  Like any Guyanese, my unfortunate experience pushes me to rethink my future here in this country.  Even against such a dysfunctional backdrop government turns a blind eye and advocates that overseas based Guyanese relocate here.  Where is the logic?  Government lacks common sense and it is precisely why this country racks up five decades of failure.  How can anyone live here or raise children here amid such bloated dysfunction?  Obviously, they can’t.

It is worth noting that nearly every dysfunctional problem which pollutes this nation including crime, robbery, domestic abuse, harassment, racism, corruption, abusive minibus operators and so on are tied to one common root cause – a lack of education.  It seems that Guyanese for the most part can’t differentiate right from wrong and are in dire need of guidance.  To ameliorate this problem government desperately needs to ensure there is education.  This means that at the very least it must racially/ethnically diversify the Ministry of Social Protection or else this country will continues on its dreadful, steep decline.

Yours faithfully,

Annie Baliram