AntivirusGy 10: black and coolie people rebelling together..

Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay

"You could come. We here" - firm and confident voice of my co-conspirator.
I was fed up. My head is heavy.  Every time I look in the mirror , I see the image of a man with the heavy head.

I can't ease the burden alone.

I know the risk. The place I will meet with the man on the phone and other people might be under surveillance. It is a place that is illegal to open

But freedom and liberation require risk taking.

I tie the cloth on my face to mask and go down to the place. Feeling anxious, scared, hopeful that I could be free from the burden.

I open the door of the place. People there.  Everyone in masks. I am the only one with a cloth on my face. Shoots.. I am standing out.  Hearing the curses of the health officials in my head about the men especially who not taking cautions.

'Aye taliban, come and spray your hand' a man shouts.    I reach out the hand, first ritual of solidarity, the cleansing of the hands and the minds.

Seeing people in masks. Black, coolie, mixed, indigenous.. all in the place.. resisting the oppression. Defiance of the oppression of  being alone.

I think or two might be police. But if they are police, and they not hiding it , well maybe they are also fed up and want to take risks and join the resistance to the oppression.

Sit in a chair. Decide to take off the cloth.  Conversation around me.

"Dis Covid thing is a lie,  you aint see how dem man open back up.  " one man says defiantly.

Another man 'We gah fuh dead somehow.. don't worry"...  Black people, coolie people, Indigenous laughing. Some not so hard.  Risking death for liberation.  I want to say you know is man deading more from this virus, but I know, what is the point.. I am here too.

I believe in gender equality and so, no gender must be oppressed. But the same gene that make me vulnerable to the virus got me in this revolutionary place where nuff men also not afraid of death or dying.

Or so they say.

Another brother in the resistance 'Yall aint dedding fast enough, dem need more deaths so dey could get de money".. some shouts of yes yes.  Yes.. suspicion of the state and the data from the state.

I shout.. no testing, leh we stay home if we sick, we aint going no prison.   Voices in agreement, horror stories from the prisons are being told.

Another man say ' Dem who aint want police, dem is terrorist'.. Conversation shifting to the other revolution which is not taking place.  Solidarity , this rebellion with other resistance.

"You need police, but you can't put pschyo and judge the police from the pscyho'.

I say to the man behind me, man.. you gotta tell dem man not to talk so much, saliva could spread the virus.

I want to shout what about elections and black and coolie and racism and so in Guyana.

But people probably here, like me, to also not talk about elections.  People trying with the space between them, but it look like some don't care about space. Probably the divisions are too much in the country already that every now and then it is good to feel close to strangers.

And we all , black people, coolie people, Other people resisting the oppression, laughing together, hopefully not breathing in virus air together but taking the risk of being there together.


Time for me to go. I tell the conspirators I gone.

I close the door behind me.   Nice sunshine.

Business open and half open..and not open pharmacy, food shop.spare parts, barber shop, mechanic shop.

I don't feel scared. I don't care about the virus and other oppressions. My heart is lighter from the short moment of illegal communion. My head is lighter.



(AntivirusGy is a collection of ramblings on things which have changed since Covid 19 entered our vocabulary)