By Stanley Ming (Taken from Facebook):
I am currently on vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii with my family, as l celebrate my 70th birthday. Having spent the last few days traversing all across the island of Oahu, l humbly state my observations. The island is blessed with many naturally beautiful landscapes and scenery, complimented by very friendly and hospitable citizens.
The island has an area of 597 square miles, a perimeter of 111 miles with beautiful sand beaches and the blue water of the Pacific Ocean, providing its population of 976,372 people with lots of opportunities to live and work in a very tropical and diverse environment.
Having visited over 100 countries over the years, l always try to understand why some Nations are quite successful and prosperous, while most are not.I have also tried objectively for decades, to determine which country outside of my own, which l may consider adopting as an alternative homeland.The honest truth is, l have not discovered one to date, and doubt that l ever will.
Am l being over patriotic or sentimental ? Let me state a few facts as compared to Oahu, which is quite impressive to say the least.
Guyana has an area of 83,000 square miles, 139 times the size of Oahu. Our Atlantic coastline has a few beaches in the northwest and the Berbice coast. However, the Essequibo River has a length of over 600 miles with over 70 miles of pristine brown sand beaches and fresh water, along the banks of its first 50 miles beyond the mouth.
Beyond the narrow Atlantic coastline, which is miniscule, we have lush savannah lands, countless rivers, creeks, lakes, waterfalls, mountain ranges, pristine forests covering over 50,000 square miles with over 1,000 species of trees, abundant wildlife and bird species.
With over 200 different varieties of fruits and vegetables, an abundance of fresh water, the country has the potential to grow and process not only all the food we need, but also for the entire Caribbean and beyond.
The unquestionable abundance of natural and mineral resources, including, timber, sand, granite, bauxite, gold, diamonds, manganese and the recent disvoeries of over 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil etc. place us in a very enviable position.
We must ask ourselves and be critical, in identifying and defining the reasons for the sad fact, that we are the second poorest country in the hemisphere, and one of the most undeveloped, when it comes to infrastructure and a very fractured civil society.In short, our failures are mainly due to lack of visionary leadership, entrenched corruption, poor educational and medical facilities and deep rooted distrust between the two major ethnic groups.
The way forward will necessitate, open meaningful dialog, reform of our Constitution, the embracing of law and order and the creation of an atmosphere of peace, justice and equal opportunities for all.
Easier said than done, but what l would recommend as a start, is that like l have been fortunate to do, with my family over the years, is to traverse and discover the unlimited beauty of our own truly great country, and in so doing, may begin establishing strong bonds and allegiances to our own Dear Land of Guyana.
I will keep on dreaming for the next generation to make the necessary changes !✌️👍🙏