We must encourage our youth to remain

Dear Editor,

Picture this; a post-oil Georgetown buzzing with economic activity, young professionals meander the asphalt pathways amidst grandiose infrastructure. Intellectual chatter in creole Guyanese jargon swarm the streets, home. 

This abstraction may seem more of a dream than a probable future, and I am in concretized agreement. The pivotal wave of change that must ensue for this to become even a remote possibility is simple. Opportunity. 

The timely removal of archaic relics that have solidified their positions in predominantly public office in Guyana must effectuate. 

Guyana’s level of Brain Drain is unfathomable. A land that is home to such talent, to such brilliance and ingenuity has been lost to the fangs of greed, injustice and envy. Is it such a surprise that we are ill-equipped to handle this windfall that has bequeathed us? Have we not held the flood gates of emigration agape and flogged the young and ambitious out the postern? Have we not intimidated, victimized and bullied our talent to the extent that they have fled to greener pastures to lay brick for another? 

The inefficiency in Guyana runs deep. There is no easy nor rapid remedy. But to effect change, small efforts in the right direction unquestionably accrue to gargantuan results. We must encourage our youth to remain in the homeland. As the older generation, it is upon our weary shoulders to mould, teach and encourage; not hamper and impede. 

If the young are given a fair chance, I believe, within every ounce of my being, that the rate of development in Guyana will exponentiate. It is the contemporary and avant-garde ideas that we so desperately need. The hackneyed have ran their race, and must now graciously return to the stables. 

Yours faithfully,

Sara Sammy