TIMES like these I am glad I am living in my beloved Guyana. I am a Caribbean man and would not have it any other way. Times like these I am glad I am not living in a country where the Caucasian race predominates. We in Guyana have other racial problems but what happened in Ireland will never, never ever occur here.
We have racial divisions in this country but Guyanese will never practise the racism that was seen in Ireland. They will never in the next 1000 years in this country see an Indian-Guyanese sports official putting medals on the neck of competing team members and as the Indian official reach an African student, that student is bypassed.
There will never, in another 1000 years in Guyana, be an African-Guyanese sharing out medals on the podium and deliberately ignore an Indian. We will never see such petty discrimination against six-year-old students in Guyana. But it happened in Ireland at a gymnastic event. The children were all lined up to receive their medals and the official deliberately refused to place a medal on the neck of the only African child.
The heart of every human on Planet Earth should go out to that six-year-old. It is not for the faint-hearted to watch that video. You have to think that humanity is in crisis when you see that video. Humanity is indeed in crisis when you learn that the Canadian Parliament invited a 90-year-old former Ukrainian Nazi official to attend Parliament to witness the address of the President of Ukraine. When the former Nazi official’s name was called, every parliamentarian across party lines got up and applauded him.
A lady named Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius of Kurdish blood came to Holland as an eight-year-old refugee. She grew up and entered politics. On the campaign trail, she tells the story of her mother clutching her Gucci bag when she arrived in Holland. Inside that bag, she said was all her mother brought to Holland. She is contesting the upcoming national elections and has a chance of becoming Prime Minister. Now brace yourself for the gradual loss of humanity in today’s world. This lady announced that if she becomes PM, she would drastically reduce refugee intake and would reduce family reunification among refugees.
To think that the world in the 21st century has produced such a person is beyond imagination. To know that Britain has non-White Cabinet Ministers that think like Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius is beyond imagination. To think that in the US Trump is leading a better man in Joe Biden in the poll is beyond imagination. Finally, the Greek Coast Guard refused to tow a sinking ship carrying hundreds of refuges. It sank and 580 human lives were lost.
I leave you with perhaps the most profound philosophical pop song ever composed. I think the Beatles composed some serious philosophical reflections. I can think of “Nowhere Man”, “The Fool on the Hill” and “Eleanor Rigby” I think Bob Marley stands alone in the history of pop music in composing songs that plead for humans to pursue justice and liberation so humanity can be free.
But for me, Elton John’s “Circle of Life” remains the greatest philosophical pop song ever written. Please read the lyrics and reflect on your participation in saving a disappearing humanity in the world at the moment.
Circle of life – Elton John
Verse 1]
From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinkin’, step into the sun
There’s more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
Some say, “Eat or be eaten”
Some say, “Live and let live”
But all are agreed as they join the stampede
You should never take more than you give
Chorus]
In the circle of life
It’s the wheel of fortune
It’s the leap of faith
It’s the band of hope
‘Til we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life
[Verse 2]
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with the scars
There’s far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rollin’ high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
Chorus
In the circle of life
It’s the wheel of fortune
It’s the leap of faith
It’s the band of hope
‘Til we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life