Thoughts of a minibus traveller

Dear Covid-19, I put ginger and turmeric in the eddo leaf bhaji and it taste good. I only tried it because of you . I also put in green mango for the first time, picking it from the tree in the yard and feeling gratitude for the farmers and all those involved in the food supply and distribution and hoping that you stay away from them. Covid-19,  I keep running from you which is not what I do with problems and fears. And so it is new thing I am learning as I do not go through with thinking that I should embrace you, love you and then deal with you, rather than avoid meeting you Optimism Dear Covid-19 ,  today I felt relief when I heard the "Inside, inside' of the woman who comes weekly to beg and who always wants a lil more. Her voice sounded strong and I am glad she is not sick. She was cheerful.  She took out this bottle of blue liquid and rubbed up.. and the smell is enough to chase away anyone, and hopefully you.   She taking the virus seriously,...

Photo by Meshach Pierre by Meshach Pierre, Rae Wiltshire and Vidyaratha Kissoon Are you excited by the chaos of Covid and the tensions of Elections? Are you feeling the thrill of the Court battles and the daily racial posts on social media ? Are you looking forward to the COVID apocalypse? Then this blog is not for you. Instead, this blog is for those of us who feel that the double whammy of a still-ongoing elections crisis and a global pandemic is a bit much to deal with all at once, and being inside all the time is making us go a bit stir-crazy. Mental health and COVID 19 The below resources provide some tips on protecting mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak: UNICEF - How teenagers can protect their mental health during COVID 19 Lifeline Australia - Mental Health and well being during the COVID 19 outbreak CDC (for those of you who do not think the USA is an enemy of Guyana ) Manage anxiety and stress WHO has lots of advice, including: How to cope with ...

Dear President Granger, I am a sinner and have no integrity and some people think I am racial and I have lied and cheated and hurt loved ones and so on but in May 2015 I was really really happy that at your swearing in , you chose not to wear a suit and I used to keep watching you to see if you  would ever wear a suit and tie. I declare that I am not a good person and I know people gun start saying 'who is me fuh talk and so on'. I have never voted for you or the PNC or the PPP, but I have paid taxes and have protested often without any results.  Protested the PPP and the your Governments and the institutions. My nerves can't handle the COVID and the elections and today me and another guy talked about writing about we could do to help with mental health. But then, fear on my mind. I got friken last night though, when I read this statement from you which said you were 'deeply disappointed' that the CARICOM team has left. Friken because I thought yo...

March 11 2015 and I was friken when I hear people kill Courtney Crum-Ewing. The PPP was in power.  I and others went to stand in the spot where he stood so that I didn't have to feel afraid. Nothing has changed in the five years since. Anil Has not Gone. The PPP has not changed.   The PNC has not changed.   March 14 2020 and I friken still. PNC supporters show dey power oustide GECOM and PPP supporters show dey power on the roads I friken how democracy is between the possibility that PPP of 2015 get more votes than the PNC  yore or that the PNC  of the old times continue to win the elections as the observers say the process has been flawed. I read how PNC supporters harass and threaten the journalists a nd others outside GECOM on Friday 13th.  I remember how PPP members and others threaten people. Nothing is changing.  I friken how there is no opportunity taken to transform anything, create something new. May 20...

I see the name in the inbox and the ?.  A simple question, about the blog.  I send the link. It has been months of shunning.  I have breathed so I answer as I deal with any other question. I delete the conversation.  With ordinary love, I could go into a string of how are yous and so on. But this is not ordinary love. Neither of us voted, different reasons though. I am thinking love, doing love. I see inbox again. Then a few lines detailing the problems we have had. I am the monster. How does a monster do love? I breathe. I start typing to challenge each line, much like h ow the politicians go back and forth on history on who is right and who is wrong. And I say, no , you love yourself first. And nothing will change, Nothing has changed. I breathe. I feel calm as I type 'I don't know what to say' Reply comes in 'Don't say anything' I type a nice ending 'I wish you the best' and delete the conversation. Love  ebbed and g...

Body pain Morning after the first case of Coronavirus is reported in Guyana and my body feels stiff all over and moving is difficult. Throat is dry and I cough and I think of where I have been, who I have sat next to. I wanted to make a post about the Coronavirus thing now makes Elections 2020 Guyana more stressful, and a snide comment about how gatherings to celebrate or protest the projected results from GECOM are not going to be healthy. I drink the diclofenac tablet. I don't want to, but I don't want to keep feeling stiff. I do the chores, bending and stretching, but it is funny how the body moves but the pain and stiffness remain. It is all in my head and soul I know, the thing I frighten about this virus is not about me getting sick, but about me passing it on to other people especially the elderly person I interact with daily. Buying water, touching elbows  I see  a car passing and a man is wearing a face mask. Bus comes up, and one passenger has the mas...

We , the PPP and PNC, whom most of you have trusted as the custodians of Guyana's proud heritage and both the innovators of the proud legacy ahead, after taking in some of the bhang and dhatoor and sharing the peace and love of Phagwah, and looking forward to the message of Easter We realise that legal elections will not solve the problem. We have both had a chance to rule and we recognise that still,  yall don't want to be ruled on one or both of us. We recognise how easy it is for yall peaceful protests to degenerate into mayhem which can be photographed beautifully and shared around on social media and lead to the international headlines about crisis and so in the most beautiful tourism country in the world. We know there is a court case going on, but we know that like the elections, the court judgement will not make the country happy. We therefore agree to the following :- We will beg GECOM to scan and upload the Statements of Polls they have and the PNC will ...

I did not vote in Guyana's Elections 2020 but ... I see that a few of the palm seeds and mango seeds and other seeds that are falling in the yard are germinating  I am fascinated and want to know more more about the Russians and the Libyan who came to Guyana, stayed at the Marriot and were deported.. I mean.. the Jason Bourne in me knows that us agents of mischief go and hide in safe houses and come in undercover and so on.. , like how the Brazillian landed at Rumzeigh t..  I remembern the elections specialist telling me before the elections that verification is not really required, should not be required since everybody has a copy of the statements of poll and adding should be straightforward so the verification process is part of trust building.. not required by law.And I go check the law , and realise that they didn't legislate trust and love and transparency and dem tings I have to figure out a way to extract these two seedlings from the concrete cracks  I...

Gay love Settling down with coffee and about to delete the mass messages and I see a hail up from a man, an intelligent man, and I not sure what to say in response because I aint able talk about who elections and so. The man though, is not talking about elections but his struggles with his sexuality and emotional attractions to other men.  And as far as I know, this man has been dealing with these struggles since the PNC was first in power, then through the PPP and now again under the PNC. But he says, he manages, everyone has personal struggles and this is his own one.. and while a lot of people anxious about elections.. gay love is on this man's mind.  And I imagine all the people at all the rallies, and in the lines to vote and on facebook flaring up.. do the elections provide some kind of temporary distraction from their personal struggles? Do the gay PPP supporters and the gay PNC supporters forget about their gayness and  homophobia and how the love is forb...