How will people survive with 6.5?

The dreams and aspirations of children are pure, and they should be nurtured. When they are told that they cannot chase their dreams or that they are not good enough, it can leave permanent scars and insecurity.

Every year the National Children’s Mashramani Competition takes place and the finals for poetry, calypso, masquerade, and dance are held at the National Cultural Centre. I have had the privilege of working with this competition for several years and it is amazing to witness the talent of the children and the dedication of the teachers who help the children to prepare for the competition. This is another example of how teachers put their time and efforts into our children and why they deserve better salaries.

It is day nine of the teachers strike as I am writing this and what we have heard from the government concerning the strike is that it is political, illegal, that teachers need to be patient, insults, threats and that they will not be bowing to their demands. We the Guyanese people have created monsters by allowing a small group to give us the bare minimum for too long. We have excused them for so long and now they think that they can insult the citizens of this country, berate them for wanting what is theirs, flaunt their wealth and that there will be no consequences for their actions. It is disappointing how the government is disrespecting our teachers even though they are selfless in the work they do for the nation’s children.

For the National Children’s Mashramani competition it is especially heartwarming when not only children participate at the sub-regional and regional levels, but also when those who make it to the finals travel across the country to gather at the National Cultural Centre to represent their regions. Though every region does not place in the top three, every child should be commended for their bravery and willingness to participate. This competition can help children to overcome their fears, talents can be discovered, and it can boost their confidence to continue to do what they love. So, imagine when a child is disqualified. Think about the hurt we cause children and how something like disqualifying a child from a competition can damage their self-esteem.

We learned about a disqualification this week when news broke about a child from Region 6 being disqualified from the calypso competition. She sang about the cost of living and made a point that the 6.5 percent increase that was offered to public servants is not enough due to the cost of living. “How we gon survive with 6.5” was a recurring line in the song. It is a song of truth that speaks of the painful reality about how too many people in one of the richest countries in the world are struggling to make ends meet. The song reminds us that the children of those parents who are not paid living wages also suffer when their parents cannot adequately take care of them.

Some say that struggling people should have chosen different paths like furthering their studies or acquiring new skills to be better qualified to enjoy a better life. However, many educated and qualified people are still underpaid in Guyana and struggling. The teachers on strike for example. Who can say that dedicating one’s life to teaching the nation’s children is not deserving of the highest respect and salaries.

The consensus of the people who voiced their disappointment and concern for the child being disqualified is that the song is social commentary. The Allied Arts Unit of the Ministry of Education which is responsible for the children’s competition issued a press release stating that there are established rules of the competition which have been in place for years. The press release spoke about being committed to upholding principles of excellence, respect, values, ethics, peace, harmony, and love. Age appropriateness was also mentioned. The cost of living affects children too. They have a right to express themselves about any subject that affects them. The song is not vulgar. It does not name, shame or berate anyone. It is my opinion and I suppose the opinion of others that it was the mention of the proposed 6.5 percent increase for public servants that was mentioned in the song that led to the disqualification.

“One Guyana” is a political slogan. It is not our national motto and with the way the nation is in disarray it is not what it is purported to be. Would any child be disqualified for singing about “One Guyana”? Have they been? There is hypocrisy involved in what is acceptable and unacceptable in artistic expression in Guyana.

Continuously we have seen the efforts to censor calypso. We can deduce that the government prefers not to be criticised through this art form or to be criticised at all. It is one of the reasons ministers can find themselves responding to comments or creating posts on social media that expose how petty, arrogant, and out of touch they may be.

Calypso is not an art form that was ever meant to be censored. It gives people a voice to highlight what is happening in society. Calypso can soothe a suffering nation and help them to forget their struggles for a moment.

Calypso originates from West African Kaiso and Canboulay music. Enslaved Africans in the 17th century who were not allowed to communicate with each other used songs to mock their slave masters. Modern calypso emerged in the 19th century with roots in Trinidad and Tobago.

Younger children might not be able to comprehend what is political and what is not. They might not understand how decisions by the government affect their lives. Our Guyanese children are smart however and they know when their parents are in distress. They know when food may not be on the table, or their parents cannot afford certain things to make them more comfortable. Some of them dream of helping their parents when they get older because they see how they are struggling.

Though the child may have been disqualified, the question is still pertinent about how the average public servant will survive with only a 6.5 increase when it seems every time one goes to shop the prices are increasing. We know that a 6.5 percent increase does not mean the same thing to the average public servant as it does to government ministers and other fat cats in the society. While an ordinary public servant might see less than ten thousand dollars added to their salaries there are those whose increases would be double and triple the salaries of some of the teachers on strike. That is the sad reality.