Dear Editor,
The flagrant police abuse of the striking sugar workers is evidence of the ongoing decay in our democratic fabric.
Stripping these workers for public mugshots is tantamount to psychological torment. The very act humiliates, objectifies, and dehumanizes individuals, making it evident that the agenda extends beyond mere law enforcement.
Charging striking sugar workers seeking a platform for their grievances, with acts as grave as ‘terrorism’ is an egregious distortion of democratic principles. Associating labour agitation and the blocking of traffic with terrorism is a mischaracterization that not only dilutes the grave nature of actual acts of terrorism but also manipulates the narrative to vilify those who challenge the Government or express dissent. This is a disturbing signal that any form of dissent, can be met with the most severe and inappropriate of charges.
When those in power resort to such extreme measures, it paints a terrifying picture of authoritarianism. These actions remind me of what I have been experiencing and witnessing first hand since 2021 with the psychologically hostile way the State has been responding to legitimate concerns raised about its failure to uphold the rule of law in matters of environmental regulations and management.
Ours is a society where power is often wielded without accountability or restraint. Some individuals supported by public salaries or other incentives, or who are otherwise openly egged on by leaders, patrol the airwaves and personally attack citizens who voice valid democratic concerns. They use their intellect to defend the current path of decay rather than protect our society, their own political parties, and leaders. Their tactics are familiar to most by now. The most common of these is not to sort sheep from goats, but instead claim that any form of disagreement are disguised political party agendas. In their world citizens cannot and must not exist outside of the destructive PPP and PNC/APNU contest for power. They actively deny and try to destroy any citizen space in which legitimate democratic concerns can be addressed, free of the control of political parties. This is just one example of existing hostility towards the emergence of authentic democracy in Guyana, and both major political parties have been guilty of this at one time or another.
The maltreatment of the striking sugar workers is not an isolated incident; it’s another indicator of the oppressiveness our society is devolving into as most citizens choose to remain passive spectators, lest they be victimized in turn. It beckons us to question: What kind of nation do we envision for ourselves? One that suppresses and shames or one that listens, understands, and reforms? Do we expect the latter to emerge from silence? And do we not see our democratic power in collectively breaking this silence?
I have noticed the alacrity with which the term, ‘development’ is being bandied about to justify all manner of undemocratic excesses, and the domination of the rest of the society by some who are reaping financial rewards while most of the population are not earning an adequate wage to feed their families. To be clear this word, ‘development’, only means ‘change’. The important question is what kind of change or development do we need as a society? For sure, we desperately need ‘development’ in how this country is governed.
Yours faithfully,
Simone Mangal-Joly
