Brief Address made at launch of Youths in Unison

( Youths in Unison was launched at the Roadside Baptist Skills Training Centre , No 68 Village, Corentyne Berbice on 2 December, 2013. I was invited to give a brief address . This is the gist of what I said )

Good afternoon friends.

I would like to start with expressing gratitude, as previous speakers have done ,to Roadside Baptist. In May 2001, some of you would have barely been born, I was asked to come to Black Bush to do a domestic violence workshop. I wondered if I had to bring my Bible and if I would have been converted!

It was an intense three days with a variety of people at the Yakusari Primary School. I was nervous all the time since I had these big people (Pastor of course has a big voice and I thought this is how God must sound) and I was uncertain of how things would go. 

I am grateful to Roadside Baptist for the work they have done, and for providing a then youngish man with great opportunities to learn about this part of Guyana and to be involved in the work against child abuse and domestic violence.

Congratulations to the young people who have decided that they want to form Youths in Unison. Thank you to all who are involved in organising the group.

When I was younger, and even now, I hated when old people preached at me about things and told me to do things which they never did when they were my age. Please forgive me if I do preach at you on this wonderful occasion.

I want to ask you a couple of questions.

So many times adults keep blaming youths for a lot of things, I want to say that there are adults who are responsible for the mess that youths many times find themselves in. How will you hold  the adults accountable who are responsible?

Gender based violence has its roots the belief that men are higher and better than women, and that women are property of men. How will you deal with sexism and the inequality between men and women?

In doing your peer educating and counselling, are you ready to deal with the related issues which case gender based violence, stigma, and discrimination?

This morning I shared a news item about the Youth Coalition for Transformation going to parliament to speak against the beating of children in schools.

What does your group think of the beating of children in school and home as a form of discipline? Do you see the connections between the tolerance for beating children and other forms of violence in our homes , schools and communities? YCT was attacked for their position by some of their former supporters .

How prepared are you to stand up for your values ? What are your core values? How do you let people know them?

In 2001, after that Blackbush Workshop – there was an issue when Banks Dih had a campaign callled I think Bottoms up. Banks DIH wanted Berbicians to drink the quarter and check the bottom of the cork for the dollar value. It was a campaign only in Berbice.

The people from that workshop spoke out against the campaign. The campaign was withdrawn and Banks DIH went to Black Bush and donated some equipment to the women's group in the area.

That workshop was key for me personally to stop drinking alcohol completely. I was doing the domestic violence work and people were telling me of how alcohol was sold, the connection between alcohol use and violence even though people say "but they have drunk people who don't beat their wives and you have sober people who beat their wives."

What does your group think about alcohol consumption? Do you abstain? Will you take sponsorship from alcohol companies? How serious is the problem of alcohol use in your communities?

I checked your Facebook page and there is a lot of Lament for Paul Walker the man from Fast and Furious. Celebrity mourning is easy to do. We have a lot of Fast and Furious here on our roads. Do you mourn 22 year old Trevon Wilson who also died in a road accident down the road from here? Have you checked about Road Safety here in Berbice?

How do you mourn? Who are you going to mourn for? Whose lives are you going to celebrate?

How do you view human rights? 

What are you doing in your group to include youth with disabilities, LGBT youth, youths who might be HIV positive, youth who have come out of the criminal justice system?

Do you see the persons you work with as equal to you or less equal?

In closing, I wanted you to think as well, each individual member. What does being a part of this group mean for me? What can I get from being a part and what can I give to the group?

The group is called in Youths in Unison.. but you know, it is okay to have dissent and different ideas. This quotation from Fran Lebowitz “Every intention, every achievement has come out of dissatisfaction, not serenity. No one ever said, "Things are just perfect. Let's invent fire." ” Please do not stress out your executive (Rebekah and Keith) with argument for argument sake , but at least ensure that you have space to be creative and innovative in how you seek to find solutions to the problems you are dealing with.

I want you to know, it is okay for you to enjoy this experience of being with Youths in Unison.

In doing the work against gender based violence and to promote equality for all human beings, you have the possibility of learning and growing in ways which you could never imagine.

Congratulations and thanks again. 

Rosemarie Choo-Shee-Nam messaged me this morning to say that I must offer help. Rosemarie and I probably started our association with Roadside Baptist about the same time. So , as the previous speakers have done,  I offer my skills and knowledge for you to use as you see fit. Thanks for listening.