Seniorstudentsshouldformgroups togetouttheanti-suicidemessage

I am therefore suggesting that we should start a movement among the senior students of our schools to come together and form groups that can meet and discuss how they can spread the word of this to as many of their colleagues as possible. Along with this, students can be advised on what to look for in those with whom they come into contact who may be contemplating suicide, and also what help they can offer to these unfortunates to get the necessary counselling to prevent them from proceeding further in their selfdestructive thinking.

Such a movement, to my mind, can be formed either in every school or within a group of schools in a community.

I hope that those in authority, either in the schools, communities, or in the Ministry of Education, can see the wisdom of this strategy and move to get it implemented soon.

When some seven months ago President David Granger announced the establishment of the Ministry of Social Cohesion (MOSC), many wondered aloud what exactly the purpose of such a ministry was. However, they would have instinctively recognized that the President wanted a decisive approach towards closing the wounds brought about by decades of socio-political and ethnocentric rivalry in our country.

During the seven months that have elapsed, not much information has been made publicly available on the mandate, aims and objectives of the MOSC, or what the specific issues it wants to tackle are, and how it plans to accomplish its goals. Maybe these will be forthcoming as the year 2016 unfolds. In the interim, the ministry has come in for a lot of political bashing, not least from the political opposition which has called for its scrapping.

But what exactly is ‘social cohesion’? It is defined as “the willingness of members of a society to cooperate with each other, in order to survive and prosper”. Based on this definition, I would want to think that the kinds of social problems we have in Guyana, that make “social cohesiveness” so far elusive, are a little more basic, for want of a better word.

Apart from the deeply entrenched racial/ethnic insecurities we have, there are many other things about daily life that make Guyana a tense society. The ethnic problems we have, characterized by distrust, suspicion, and generally guarded interaction, are now old issues that are reinforced daily by the actions of many at the grass roots level. But as our society becomes a little more tolerant, open ethnic animosity is subsiding, giving way to other forms in which the sentiments of racial entitlements and hegemony are displayed.

Our social problems seem to grow in complexity as the years go by. A new and potentially bigger problem has risen to the surface, that of intra-racial class struggles ‒ the kind of conflicts between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ of our society. They were there for quite some time now, but are growing in intensity. Violent criminality by the poor and ostensibly oppressed is one way this conflict is demonstrated. Inequitable access to opportunities, resources and social justice; exclusion from participation in developmental processes; and limited access to judicial recourse are some of the other forms in which this kind of struggle is revealed.

Now, the President also established a Ministry of Governance, supposedly to address the issue of bringing about equitable public administration. What has supported the perpetuation and growth of inter-ethnic rivalry and class struggles is the seeming lack of effective, purposeful, equitable and transparent governance – the kind of governmental approach that is unequivocal in its reach to the different ethnic groups and social classes in our society. There are feelings of helplessness, apathy and distrust for government which go back a long way.

For example, the relationship between the disciplined forces and the civilian population also gives rise to feelings of insecurity. Added to the perception of inequities in governmental administrations are the perceived impacts of political allegiance. Those who are perceived, and