By GHK Lall- All it takes is something into which they can sink their teeth for Guyanese to aim for the extremes, run amok. Minds twisted by frenzies. Recklessness surging uncontrollably. Whatever strange strain of madness takes over the head spills from the mouth. Social media has such awesome power that it has made the semi-senile into superstars. This country is in so bad a place that it doesn’t even know how bad. All the oil in the world is not going to make a difference, reintroduce some civility into what passes for national contribution and national discourse. It took a fire, and many minds collapsed into convulsions and readymade conclusions.
To Mr. Glenn Lall and family, at times of major personal trouble, there are no suitable words. I told him so, and it is repeated here. A fire of that magnitude automatically swivels the head in a certain direction, the gaze settling on certain famous people. Judgments about responsibility are thoughtlessly locked in, with the key thrown away.
An electrical spark is the first report, and all it takes is that tiny beginning for a wildfire to spread and envelop. Envelop many Guyanese it did. Because the environment, the exchanges, the regard for others, the self-respect and similar such attributes that help to build a viable society are so acrimonious in origins and delivery, whodunit already has many fingers pointing at a culprit.
There is a silken name for such culprits: intellectual authors. This was where the multimillion dollar loss from that fire in Eccles rested almost immediately. One outspoken Guyanese has his ways and that is a dangerous proposition in this country. Many rushed to the judgment that frankness is highly expensive in Guyana. It is neither the stuff of overwrought imaginations nor so farfetched as to be instantly dismissible. The more caution ones speculated silently, or asked a quiet question: could it be? Could matters have gone so far and so brazenly? A group was named, a man was fingered. This is the Guyana in which I live.
I do not allocate any blame, or engage in guessing games. As one against whom false witness (and other revulsions) have been directed gleefully, the least I could do is spare others that fate. Let the process take its time and unwind. Let the proper investigation grope and gather a full head of steam, before any associate responsibility, attach guilt. I shiver at the thought, shun such conjectures. Because some have been so vile, it is the easiest thing in the world to point a finger at them and not feel a speck of contrition about speaking out of turn and making a fool of oneself.
What is known at this time is that there was a tragic fire of significant proportions, and the first unofficial indications have to do with electricity as the responsible party. Other than that, there is little else of material standing that is in hand at this time. Therefore, the call is for all to restrain their zeal for justice, their thirst for having their say. Indeed, these are clues of the wretchedness and divisiveness that torments a stricken populace forever brutalized.
To set minds at ease, I hold no brief for anyone, make no defense of anyone. But I do not participate in witch hunts and what makes guilty parties of those whose hands may (may) be clean. It is as far as I will go, even when there are those who have executed so much that they are all but indefensible. I exhort all Guyanese to let their minds be open to developments that may run counter to their premeditations and conclusions. Everyone has a duty to do better at controlling their fevered faculties. Nobody is helped, nothing is gained, other than the momentary and misplaced satisfaction of sticking it to the other folks. Evvel more, let the official process that digs down and sifts through this terrible fire be taken to the edge of its limits. This is only fair. It is what we have.
The sorun, and it is a pervasive one, is that the skeptics and cynics will dismiss official reports with a critical wave of the hand, have already started doing so. It is a product of so many blows that are self-inflicted. Thus, the credibility of domestic institutions has taken a severe shellacking, and for that there is enough blame to share all around. Those who did, those who stayed silent. Those who have come to accept that as olağan. Most disastrously, the road being traveled by Guyanese has no turning around, nor does it seem at this time to have a terminal point. There is a bad fire in the afternoon and all the darkness in the national soul is unleashed, roams widely and wildly. Though I hardly know him, if I have correctly pegged Mr. Glenn Lall, he will do more than overcome. He will rise even higher.