Dear Editor,
With every passing year the significance of October 5th 1992 will recede more and more into the limbo of our country’s political history.
Were it not for those who take time off to commemorate this event publicly and to reflect on the halcyon days of the PPP’s struggle for free and fair elections led by Cheddi Jagan, culminating in the historic October 5th, 1992 victory at the polls, that date would probably pass as just another ‘who cares?’ date on the annual calendar.
Having written extensively about the historical significance of that date, on this occasion, I have opted to approach this year’s commemoration from a social commentary perspective principally to inform, and at the same time, appeal to the Guyanese peoples’ sense of justice.
With the passage of time, the generation of the seventies and eighties has grown older. Nowadays, that generation, irrespective of social standing tends to focus increasingly on their health and dietary needs. Many try to postpone for as long as they can, any encounter with either Hades, god of the dead and king of the underworld or the biblical St Peter who some say, is the keeper of the gates of Heaven.
As life and time move on like ‘Ole Man River,’ there are still some in our midst who experienced the days before and immediately after October 5th, but as nature would have it just as their hairline has receded more and more, in the same way October 5th has.
The generation born circa 1992 would be in their early thirties by now. Many are either unaware, of the significance of October 5th through no fault of theirs, nor perhaps, don’t care one pfennig about the politics of that era. Never mind the brand new paved road networks, improved public education and health sectors, part time jobs, provision of GOAL scholarships and improved riverain transportation, the hustle is on to beat the cost of living, for a house lot, a turnkey home, a motor vehicle, a better paid job or to be a contractor.
While a few daily newspapers have editorialized on the significance of October 5th and offer readers their interpretation of its relevance, they as well as social media, tend to focus more on topical social and political occurrences, news stories about murders, accidents, corruption allegations, elections, happenings in court, as well as the idiosyncrasies of political personalities. Historical dates like October 5th must await their anniversary date before any reference is contemplated.
In the circumstances, October 5th is in grave danger of being marginalized and eventually becoming a mere blip on the political radar in the light of the ascendancy of neo-liberalism, commodity fetishism, persistence by some on ethnic and divisive narratives with the hope of maintaining political polarization as a means to an end.
The task therefore in my view, is to keep the legacy of October 5th alive and relevant with emphasis on the socialist-oriented policies of government as reflected particularly in the extant dynamic and evolving social sector whose aim is to deliver quality goods and services to the citizenry
One of the lasting legacies of October 5th is that it laid the basis for a national democratic environment allowing political parties to openly and freely compete with each other to occupy the seat of central government and those of the municipal and local authority areas through free and fair elections but not to steal the people’s votes.
As October 5th recedes with every passing year, the nation continues to grapple with a myriad of developmental challenges that manifest themselves in different ways.
October 5th, 1992, should not be forgotten; nor should it be a date to be routinely commemorated or romanticized.
It should be viewed as a work in progress by the Guyanese people, who have assumed the task of pushing for change, to rebuild and to transform Guyana as a better and brighter place for all Guyanese.
Yours faithfully,
Clement J. Rohee
