The Statues of Guyana

It’s Tuesday evening and I am heading to the IOM Film Festival at MovieTowne. Before getting in my car, I quickly skim through Facebook and see a report about an accident on the East Coast of Demerara involving a luxury vehicle. I don’t pay attention to the details because I’m focused on not being late.

It’s just a few minutes’ drive from Kingston, where I live, to MovieTowne, but once I reach the intersection with Sheriff Street, I know I’m going to be late. Traffic is a complete mess, with around four different lines of vehicles squeezed into the two lanes eastbound. I’m frustrated, thinking there’s probably an event somewhere that I’m not aware of. It’s only when I get to Liliendaal that I realize that traffic was held up due to the accident I read about on Facebook earlier.

It is a gruesome sight. The smashed vehicle is already on a tow truck, but you can tell from its state that it’s unlikely any of the occupants survived. The road itself seemed clear of large debris, but everyone was slowing down to see what happened. That caused the traffic backup.

I remember thinking that it was such a poignant sight to see everyone slowing down, as though they were paying their last respects to the deceased.

It’s only when there’s a break between the films at the MovieTowne event that I glance at my phone and saw the first news report of the accident.

“Kosmos owner…”

And the room got colder. It can’t be Dillon. A few minutes later, I sneak another look at my phone and read that Brian was in the vehicle with him.

I’m right upstairs from Kosmos. I just passed the accident scene. And now two of my former President’s College schoolmates are dead.

Somewhere behind me in the theatre is a former schoolmate I briefly spoke with when I entered. I wonder if she’s aware of the news. I don’t realize another schoolmate is sitting in the row infront me.

There is a five-minute break and I head out for a phone call. I run into the other schoolmate I didn’t recognize earlier. She was closer to Brian and Dillon and looked like she had been crying.

What do you say at a time like this?

The final film that evening is Les Statues de Fortaleza — a documentary about Venezuelan refugees in Brazil. The film’s name comes from refugees who try to eke out a living by dressing in various costumes and posing as “living statues.”

I can’t stop thinking of the similarities between the human statues in the film and people in Guyana. Both afflicted by various stressors and trauma. How tragedy is omnipresent in their lives. Over the years, I’ve traveled to every region in Guyana and met countless people who feel stuck, frozen in place like a living, breathing statue, while life flies by. I can’t stop thinking of all the people who were not in control of their fate. People who lost control of their fate.

The next day, and the following day, and the following day — every single day of the week! — there are other accidents. An accident occurred in West Demerara while writing this piece. I haven’t had time yet to process Tuesday night and the Facebook feed of people who lost a friend, a husband, a colleague on the roads keep growing. I keep asking myself, when will this end? How will this end? What has to happen before this ends?

I think of the ripple effects of road fatalities on every aspect of society — including economic outcomes, national development and long-term stability. Of all the families whose lives were turned upside down by tragedy and wonder how many of them I encounter at the supermarkets, government offices, the gym, etc. All around us are people grieving, afflicted by post-traumatic stress disorder. Stuck.

Like living statues.

Something has to also be said about those with power who dither in their responsibilities to the people of our beautiful country.

Decades of traffic mismanagement, unsafe roads, dangerous drivers, and other related factors converged horrendously this week, and life went on as usual for those with power. Nobody has had the conviction to act boldly.
Instead, the inaction in this, and other areas illuminates what most people already know: life in Guyana is expendable, and those with power will only work efficiently when they choose to (such as pursuing their personal goals) and inefficiently when it does not involve their bottom line.

In the coming weeks, we will probably hear about the need for inquiries and studies to identify the factors behind the high road fatalities in Guyana. But a comprehensive, updated report on road conditions in Guyana is already prepared and maintained by the US Department of State, Overseas Security Advisory Council.

The average Guyanese would agree with the US report’s finding that in Guyana, “traffic enforcement is rare to non-existent.” The report further states that:

“local drivers often drive recklessly, often ignoring stop signs and traffic signals. Drivers should remain very cognizant of other cars, large commercial vehicles, minibuses, horse-drawn carts, bicycles, mopeds, scooters, motorcycles, stray dogs, sleeping animals, free-range livestock, and pedestrians, as they all share narrow, poorly maintained roads. Few roads have sidewalks. A combination of very aggressive and inexperienced, very timid vehicle operators makes driving especially dangerous. Speeding, reckless driving, tailgating, cutting across lanes and stopping quickly without signaling, passing at intersections, and passing on crowded streets are commonplace. Driving at night poses additional concerns due to poor street lighting and road conditions, drivers not lowering high-beam lights, livestock, and pedestrians congregating by the roadside.”

Clearly, everyone has a part to play in ensuring our roadways are safer, but someone has to lead. I am sick of folks saying that if people want to speed that there is nothing the police or the government can do to stop them. If that is the case, then why are we paying them to manage the affairs of our country, to oversee traffic management, to enforce the laws, to ensure safe roads, to develop effective policies?

This is a country with upside-down priorities.

Don’t our leaders realize that they too use the roads? Don’t they have to navigate the same dangerous conditions as the rest of us? Don’t they have friends who lost loved ones on the roads? Or have they become living statues?

I’m convinced that nothing in our country will change until those in power start operating from the simple premise that the people of Guyana are its most valuable resource.

If there is anyone with power who is guided by this principle, he/she will unlock the potential of our beautiful country and shape a better future for our brothers and sisters.

Over the past week, I have been reminded that life is short, so you must do whatever you can today, while you can still do it. Those who have a voice and can make a positive impact somehow must do it today, before it is too late.

We have lost too much already to allow this to continue anymore.