Guyana Chronicle Pepperpot E-Paper 30-04-2023

Not stepping down from art anytime soon

Guyanese artist Conrad Meertins was trained by the renownbed E.R. Burrowes himself (Telesha Ramnarine photo)

World Malaria Day 2023

‘Time to deliver zero malaria’

WORLD Malaria Day 2023 was observed a few days ago (April 25) under the theme, “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement.” The World Health Organisation (WHO) focused on the third “i” – implement – within the theme, along with the critical importance of reaching marginalised populations with the tools and strategies that are available today.

According to the WHO, World Malaria Day is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment to malaria prevention and control.

Instituted by WHO Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007, WHO recommends prompt parasite-based diagnosis by microscopy or malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) in all patients suspected of malaria before antimalarial treatment is administered.

And that’s the job of the only certified Malaria microscopist at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, Daisia Thomas, who’s also the Senior Medical Laboratory Technician there.

After working at the hospital for some time, her love and passion for Malaria microscopy became greater with each passing day. This job entails sample collection, sample preparation, and using a microscope to diagnose the patient.

Malaria microscopy allows the detection of different malaria-causing parasites, their various parasite stages, including gametocytes, and the quantification of parasite density to monitor response to treatment.

“Malaria microscopy is the gold standard for malaria, and as a microscopist, I can make sure that patients are diagnosed in a timely way and receive accurate results so

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Malaria microscopist Daisia Thomas

Malaria microscopy allows the detection of different malaria-causing parasites

Not stepping down from art anytime soon

A passion for preserving culture through art

BACK in “the days” – more than 60 years ago – all the wives of the British High Commission diplomats would go for art classes with the renowned Edgar R Burrowes, and Conrad Meertins, who was a student of Queen’s College at the time, would go just to look on and wash their brushes.

“Boy Conrad, I see like you like this art,” Mr Burrowes would tell the teenager. As a little boy, at 10 years old to be exact, Meertins participated in a painting competition and won. His interest had always been in art, perhaps as a result of his Dutch ancestry which included a line of boat builders - a genealogy that has provided the talent for woodwork and craftsmanship that has undoubtedly influenced the direction of his art.

Today at almost 80 of age, the father of four has anything but slowing down in his art career on his mind. With the training he received from the man himself, Mr Burrowes, Meertins has developed a type of art that hardly anyone else does.

“He [Burrowes] taught me every art form; everything he taught me! I was always there. It was quite a privilege to be taught by one of Guyana’s great art masters and he took a personal interest in me because he saw that I was really interested,” Meertins shared in

an interview at the Guyana Chronicle.

After school, he became an airline pilot and flew as captain with several of the major airlines in the region.

“But I always did art. I had the time to do it and I did not need the income from it to live; I was able to develop it quite conveniently because

time. There are not many artists doing the kind of work I am doing; not in the Caribbean and even worldwide,” the artist explained.

Having retired, Meertins began pursuing his art career full-time. He designs residential and commercial interiors, including offices, restaurants, and nightclubs. He also likes

non-artists can come and paint something or do something. I will have both adult

there was a lot of ground time.”

Meertins was able to develop his three-dimensional art while waiting in the crew room to fly. “It took me about 40 years to develop this technique; because it is a different genre altogether, nobody is doing this type of art because it’s a combination of art and woodwork and is something which I would have developed over a long period of

to do historical buildings, kokers, and other places of interest.

His ‘Van Meer’ collection can be viewed at the Academy of the Arts on Carmichael Street – an institution he started just prior to the pandemic. Despite accomplishing little due to the pandemic, Meertins kept working on the facility. Just before Independence Day, he is planning to have an opening exhibition

and children’s classes,” he shared.

Meertins concedes that it was a bad idea to open the art studio at the time he did, because he could not make any money due to the pandemic. Due to his love for art, however, he continued going to the studio every day. “Every day, from Sunday to Sunday, I leave home at 7 in the morning and get home after 12 to 14 hours. Every day I do my art; that is where I am happiest.”

He believes that for someone to learn well, they’d have to be really interested. Sadly, though, he has not found anyone who reminds him of himself in his younger days. “Persons are not like that today. You have to be consistent and want to do it. A lot of people get excited and three weeks later, they don’t come back.”

For those people who go to the Burrowes School of Art, he thinks that some time should be spent preparing them for the commercial

and will do a ‘Sip and Paint’ event around the same time.

want to make my place one where artists and even

Artist Conrad Meertins (Telesha Ramnarine photo)

By Conrad Meertins: The first asphalt plant machine acquired many years ago

A full three-dimensional representation of a proposed new office building done by Meertins

Hand in Hand building on Avenue of the Republic one hundred years ago.

The Woodside Choir is here to Stay

THE Woodside Choir has been in existence for 70 years now, established by the late Lynette Dolphin for the participation of the Bishops’ Girls.

The Woodside Choir have serenaded many nationwide with their beautiful choral singing.

The Pepperpot Magazine spoke with a senior member of the choir David H J Dew-

Bill Pilgrim. He wrote a lot of songs. We sang a lot of compositions. The choir still exists although we did have a breakoff during the COVID period, but we restarted late last year with a concert,” Dewar noted during the

ar, who shared his memorable moments since he has been in the choir

“In 1952, the Woodside attended the Youth festival, which was under the British system of festivals. The choir started with merely girls who were from The Bishop’s High School, which was an all-girls school back then. They took in boys into the choir after the then youth festival,” Dewar revealed, as he detailed the formation of the Woodside Choir.

According to Dewar, the choir needs more young people to keep the tradition alive. Dewar himself has been with the choir since he was age 20 and still holds that membership 55 years later.

Dewar made mention of the number of great musicians that were with the choir over the years

“ A name that comes to mind would be, of course,

interview.

Dewar shared that he hasn’t had any bad experiences since joining the Woodside Choir, except to say that he had the experience of burying old choir members since they have all gone to the great beyond.

He told of his good experiences with the choir, including being a critical part of music festivals.

“We restarted the music festivals in 1992 and I think we had about five of them. Every year we had one; the last one we had, had to be cancelled because of general and regional elections being held on the same date,” Dewar told Pepperpot Magazine.

Memorable moments

“For me personally, I went to Cuba for Carifesta in 1979 and in 1985, I headed for North Korea. It was not the whole choir just a few of us,“ he recalled. “The Woodside Choir has to continue,

they have to get younger folks in and we have been there and done that, as the Guyanese saying goes.”

He continued by expressing that the choir has had some international experience.

“We have been to the twin-island Republic [Trinidad& Tobago], we have been to the West Indies and some other places,” Dewar told the Pepperpot Magazine.

He recalled that the choir’s 60th anniversary was a memorable moment, particularly for him.

Some members of the choir’s friends came into the country to celebrate the choir’s 60th anniversary and thus a workshop was held to mark the occasion.

The choir has received a national award for its sterling contribution over the years in the arts industry.

In an article published in the Stabroek News on August 14, 2012, the Woodside Choir benefitted from a long and distinguished line of conductors, including Ruby McGreggor, William “Billy” Pilgrim, Deryck Bernard, Aubrey Joseph, the brothers (WJ and J) Simmonds) and Reginald McDavid. Ms. Pollard further said each conductor brought his own style to the Woodside Choir.

The origin of Labour Day

By Dillon Goring

MAY 1 is known in Guyana and other countries as Labour Day.

Since it is associated with the labour movement in Guyana, we sat down with the President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Seepaul Narine, whose union is part of the World Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FITUG), to discuss the origin of Labour Day and its significance today.

According to Narine, in some countries of the world, Labour Day is commemorated on September 1, but in Guyana, it is celebrated on May 1 every year. He also explained that Labour Day began in the city of Chicago in the United States of America in the 1800s.

“The focus of Labour Day is about the improvement of workers’ [working conditions] and defending the rights of workers,” Narine told Pepperpot Magazine.

He explained that the focus of this year‘s celebration in Guyana is about a united labour movement and defending the rights of the workers.

“In Guyana, Labour Day celebrations began during the 1930s under the leadership of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow and his British Guiana Labour Union (BGLU)… In 1958, May 1 was declared a national holiday by then Minister of Labour, Janet Jagan. Since that time, workers in Guyana have celebrated this day with marches through the streets of Georgetown and elsewhere, along with rallies addressed mainly by union leaders and others,”Narine explained.

The first May Day celebrations focused on workers took place on May 1, 1890, after its proclamation by the first international congress of socialist parties in Europe on July 14, 1889, in Paris, France, to dedicate May 1 every year as the “Workers Day of International Unity and Solidarity.” This is according to a document online.

Further, in an article published in the Guyana Chronicle dated May 3, 2020, it was noted that in these years, also, modern political parties began to be established and since Britain had decided to withdraw from its West Indian colonies, these political parties thought of themselves as succeeding the colonial power.

“These political parties thought they could strengthen themselves by co-opting the unions and they successfully did so to the extent that labour concerns in the unions very often became subordinated to political concerns.

In all strikes and labour

protests against the employers, the state generally took the side of the employers and this was clearly seen in the sugar strikes in the 1940s and 1950s and these workers’ struggles in the sugar industry form an epic chapter in the Trade Union history of Guyana.

Though the worker struggles for better wages and working conditions have essentially the same characteristics in all countries, each country has its own peculiar manifestation of such struggles: Western Europe and the United States experienced their Industrial Revolutions in the 19th Century. Industrial production was done by the factory system, which employed large conglomerates of workers who mostly left their homes in the countryside to find employment in the fast-growing industrial towns.

Stewartville South

an up-and-coming village

LAST week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the quiet, breezy village of Stewartville South to highlight the way of life of the locals, most of whom are sugar workers.

Stewartville South is also known as Bangladesh Street. The name was derived when it was first established to relocate sugar workers and their families from a squatting area near the Leonora Sugar Estate Side Line Dam in the 1980s.

It was said that the village, which consists of one street bordered by Stewartville Line Top and Stewartville New Housing Scheme, used to be a place of constant

flooding whenever it rains.

Back then, the country Bangladesh was featured as being flooded and the name was birthed and it is still referred to as Bangladesh Street today.

Stewartville is the only village that was once bordered by two sugar estates,

but today only one of the two estates are operational. This estate provides employment for a lot of people within the village.

Stewartville South can be accessed via Tamarind Dam from the main public road then onto Line Top, a onestreet village which is a wellkept place free of garbage.

The village is between Leonora and Uitvlugt.

It is a quaint street which benefitted from an all-weather road a few years ago, replacing a mud dam and

to the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) located at Tamarind Dam.

It is a one street-village which is mostly quiet except for a few loud neighbours, but generally, life is quiet and everything is well with the folk living there.

The people are very welcoming, hospitable and friendly and would greet you without any hesitation and invite you to their homes to have a drink of a cold beverage, coffee or tea, along with biscuits and snacks.

At the end of the

street, there is a canal with a ball field and the continuation of the street leads to the main public road through another section of the community. The village comprises of mostly Indo Guyanese and in that one street the locals reside like a large family and look over each other’s welfare.

There are some retirees in the village, elders, a handful who are not in good health and others, who have been living there from the inception during the relocation period.

It had resembled a shanty town with small cottages and other makeshift structures but

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has enhanced the lives of the people living there and even those passing through.

Bangladesh Street has one shop, a seamstress, a rum shop, a caterer for icing and cupcakes, small business owners and a lot of sugar workers and others attached

Line Top, Stewartville (Delano Williams photos)

The new Stewartville Housing Scheme

Clearing the drainage canal managed by the sugar estate

Estate lands opposite Stewartville new Housing Scheme

Uitvlugt Side Line Dam

Deputy Chairman of the Stewartville/Cornelia Aida NDC, Paul Narine

The locals of Bangladesh Street, Stewartville South say things are quiet

By Michel Outridge

SHIVANIE Persaud is the proprietor of the only grocery shop in Bangladesh Street, Stewartville South, West Coast Demerara and she has her work cut out since she is tasked with both household chores and shop-keeping.

The 43-year-old reported that she has lived in the village for more than 20 years and named the shop after her only child, a daughter, Chelsea, who is 14 years old.

Persaud added that her

her small business daily by making purchases.

Persaud likes the peace the village has and wouldn’t change that for anything.

Roseann Dias

Next door is the home of Roseann Dias, a mom of four, whose husband was entertaining her brother, who was visiting from Essequibo Coast.

The 53-year-old, who was in the company of her husband’s mother and her grand daughter, told the Pepperpot Magazine that she

because it is quiet and they have all the basic necessities to have a comfortable life.

“The people around here live to suit themselves, but it is quiet, and there is no such thing as a ‘bad neighbour’,” she said.

Meanwhile, her husband, Anand Kumar, had some beverages and matching cutters for the day and they had put on a small boom box for music while catching up on a long-deserved chat.

Baljit, the bar owner Baljit (only name) is

children from her deceased sister and her own daughter.

The 45-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is a stay-at-home full-time mother who is caring for a physically-challenged granddaughter who is a cancer

survivor.

Her husband supports the home and he is a cane cutter who does part-time labourer jobs whenever the estate is not in operation, like the outof-crop season.

Deosarran reported that

she is rearing ram goats and a few cows to offset their expenses and would sell the ram goats.

She explained that when her sister passed away more

husband is a carpenter and together, they earn honestly and have a very simple way of life.

She is, however, grateful for the people in the street and beyond who support

has been residing in Bangladesh Street for 30 years and remembered they moved in July 1987.

Dias stated that life is fair in that part of the country and she likes the village

a resident of Bangladesh Street, Stewartville South, West Coast Demerara and he has been living in the village since 1991.

He is self-employed via his bar in the lower flat of his two-storey house.

Baljit is a local of the community but used to reside in a different section of the village and was employed as a sugar worker for 42 years before he retired.

These days, Baljit is enjoying his old age and taking things slow while tending to his newborn grandchild, a little girl.

He describes life as good and he is friendly, except he would stay in and just mind his own business, his way of “preserving peace” he said.

Anita Deosarran

Meanwhile, along the drainage canal bordering the Stewartville New Housing Scheme, Line Top and Stewartville South is the Uitvlugt Side Line Dam and there is a row of dwelling houses.

Aback of Uitvlugt Side Line Dam is Uitvlugt Pasture and there are a few connecting bridges linking the villages.

On the Uitvlugt Side Line Dam is the home of Anita Deosarran, a mother of three with four adoptive

Shop of Shivanie Persaud of Bangladesh Street (Delano Williams photos)

Roseann Dias pictured with her granddaughter, her husband and her brother at her home

Baljit poses with his granddaughter

The elders of Stewartville South remain hopeful

By Michel Outridge

AT 74 years old Biptree

Nazeer is often forgetful,

and she is stricken with multiple illnesses such as diabetes, a nervous issue, hypertension and choles -

terol, but despite health challenges, she is a good person who is always up for a quick chat.

She is a resident of Stewartville South, West Coast Demerara and she is the mother of three.

She has two pet parrots and a cat which recently gave birth to a few kittens as little companies during the time when her son is not at home.

Even at her age, she does all the cooking and cleaning and did a good job ensuring the place is tidy.

That day, she was thinking up a menu for lunch and dinner, a one-pot kind of meal but was having a cup of tea and some crackers before starting that meal.

She likes to recline in her outdoor hammock after completing chores.

Nazeer told the Pepperpot Magazine that 17 years ago, her husband died and she has been living in the small village for more than 30 years.

She is originally from Overhead Tank ‘C’ Field, Stewartville area and relocated to where she is living now after marriage.

Nazeer recalled that in her younger days, she used to go to the back dam area

wooden cottage in a wellkept yard, is 78 years old and retired from the sugar estate.

Nazeer is looking forward to celebrating his 79th birth anniversary with his family on May 19. He was a heavy-duty operator at the sugar estate for over 40 years.

These days, he is at home where he does a few

what is left of his life.

Nazeer told the Pepperpot Magazine that life is quite calm despite the challenges of old age and sickness and that he has not received his monthly old age benefit for the past year.

Due to his ill health, he is unable to go out alone and his daughter, who lives in the city, would visit to assist him and she was the one running up and down trying to sort out his old age benefit, but to date it hasn’t been rectified.

The elder added that he is getting his workplace pension and he is making do with that since his wife is also elderly and sick.

In addition, he is tasked with caring for his mentally challenged son and his wife, who resides with them.

Nazeer reported that he is the father of nine children, and only six are alive. Last year he lost a son to COVID-19.

He is the grandfather of 23 and great-grandfather of 14.

to pick ‘ban-corilla’ to sell. She was also employed at Leonora Sugar Estate, where she used to throw manure in the cane fields.

After she tied the knot, she quit working in her children-bearing years and later did some domestic work.

“Some days I don’t feel so good. Other days I try to cook and clean because I have to and I would get about the day,” she said.

Nazeer Rohaman

Another resident, Nazeer Rohaman, who has a neat

things around the yard and retired completely from rearing cows and cultivating a kitchen garden due to his ill health.

He has a pacemaker and is a heart patient who needs care at times but is trying to have a positive outlook on

The elder told the Pepperpot Magazine that life in Stewartville South is quiet and he is contented even though things are not always in his favour.

Nazeer has the support of his wife, Bibi Roosra Rohaman, 76, who has chronic arthritis in her joints.

Biptree Nazeer in her hammock (Delano Williams photos)

Nazeer Rohaman, his wife, Bibi Roosra Rohaman seated on the bench and their son with his wife, standing behind

Simplicity at its best in Stewartville South

By Michel Outridge

LIFE certainly isn’t perfect for Samraj (only name) and his wife, 44, Bibi Samraj, residents of Stewartville South, West Coast Demerara, who have a lovely little home that is so clean and tidy.

They together have a well-put-together home and yard which is brightly painted and colourful, quite pleasing to the eyes, but this couple, who have been married for many years, are enduring some hardships due to ill health.

Quietly though, they would go about their daily routine to earn and improve things in their own little ways.

The 67-year-old had to quit working due to an illness and is usually at home. That day when the team visited, he was watching television while his wife was sewing.

Samraj told the Pepperpot Magazine that he has been a

Sugar worker, Rajendra Kymeram and his wife, Kowsilla Keshwar at their home

villager for the past 25 years and when he first moved into the village, it had just a few zinc houses and it was a mud dam and under-developed.

He recalled that the village was established for sugar workers in the 1980s and it was a canfield converted into a housing scheme for the people, including himself, who were squatting near the Leonora Sugar Estate.

Samraj reported that the sugar workers were about 50 and living on the Side Line Dam.

The Stewartville South resident stated that he worked with the sugar estate for eight years before he retired and was a taxi driver until he was forced to stop working due to an illness.

Samraj added that some days are better than others since he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

Meanwhile, his wife, Bibi Samraj told the Pepperpot Magazine that she doesn’t work anywhere but is self-employed doing some sewing and she also makes chicken foot, mettai, ice and icicle to sell right from her home.

The seamstress was at the time, re-fitting a blouse for a customer while her granddaughter was observing the process.

The 44 -year-old stated that life is quiet and trouble-free in their section of the village, which is just one street and the people are super nice to each other.

Samraj noted that she began exploring the possibilities of becoming independent and started sewing from her home three years ago.

The local reported that she used to be employed as a domestic worker but after her husband fell ill, she had to seek an alternative avenue to earn and decided to do it from home.

Samraj, a mother of two, added that her son lives in the same yard in his own house at the rear, while another son resides overseas.

The seamstress has a pet parrot called Catherine, compliments of her son, who resides in neighbouring Venezuela.

Samraj told the Pepperpot Magazine that she had already prepared meals for that day, a task she prefers to do early in the morning so it gives her more time to do other things like sewing.

“Things are quiet here and as you can see, we respect

each other and it is the same with the neighbours even though at times they do get a bit louder than usual with their own domestic issues,” she said.

Rajendra Kymeram and his family

Also in the same street is the home of Rajendra Kymeram is a cane harvester and he has been living in the village for the past 36 years.

The 47-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that the estate had halted their operations so he was at home enjoying some time off from work.

He was in the company of his wife, Kowsilla Keshwar, a housewife who takes pride in keeping the home and everything in order.

This couple has a pet parrot, Kemo, who has been with the family for a long time and he is more than 20 years old and wise in his own way.

The father of three recalled when he met his wife for the first time. He was visiting with friends at a mandir in Canjie, Berbice and knew he had to make her his wife.

Together they have three children, a nice home and a fair, simple, and honest life.

Their eldest is 19 years old and is employed while two others are still in school.

“It is quiet here and, in this street, we do things together so if I weed my yard today, almost everybody will do the same, especially at holidays, and we support each other and try to keep the place clean,” he said.

The seamstress, Bibi Samraj displaying the blouse she is re-fitting

Home of Rajendra Kymeram and his wife, Kowsilla Keshwar

Stewartville South, a developing little village

By Michel Outridge

SAVITRI Sooklall is a small business operator, a cake maker, who caters to events with her creative designs in icing cakes and cup cakes made to order

and she does it right from home.

Sooklall is a resident of Stewartville South, West Coast Demerara and a single mother of two, who was once employed at a supermarket in Tuschen, East Bank Es-

sequibo.

The 32-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that her last catering job, a specially made icing cake was for a birthday on Easter weekend.

She stated that she separated from her husband 18 months ago, and she has to earn to support her children.

Sooklall resides at the home of her father, a cane harvester, and she does the cooking for him.

Even though making icing cakes isn’t an everyday job, it is still an income and also not a big money earner.

“It was always my desire to become self-employed and when I could, I started out on my own, utilising my skill to bake cakes and icing it to suit customers,” she said.

Sooklall has a lovely home which is very clean and tidy, complimented with a well-kept yard.

Ganesh Sooklall, the cane harvester

Meanwhile, her father, Ganesh Sooklall, 54, a sugar worker attached to Leonora Sugar Estate, was at home relaxing that day and he was reclining in the outdoor hammock.

He is a local of the village and he pretty much stays to himself and doesn’t mix up

Savitri Sooklall, the cake maker (Delano Williams photos)

Stewartville South...

too much with the neighbours.

Sooklall likes the quiet of the community and is pleased that their once mud dam was upgraded to an all-weather road.

He reported that the village has developed since he first moved in the street and is quite happy about the changes that have enhanced his life.

The NDC Stewartville/Cornelia Ida Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) manages six villages and oversees developmental works in all the communities that come under their catchment area.

Overseer, Savitri Gopaul of the Stewartville/ Cornelia Ida NDC told the Pepperpot Magazine that internal streets are being upgraded, and some are completed while drainage and infrastructural works are ongoing in all the villages.

Gopaul said the six villages that come under the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida NDC are Stewartville, Leonora, Groenveldt, Edinburg, Anna Catherina and Cornelia Ida.

She reported that they have five new housing schemes in these villages and under the Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP) they have been trying their utmost to maintain the drains

and parapets.

Gopaul added that they have partnered with the Ministry of Infrastructure to upgrade many internal streets in the six villages.

She related that 20 councillors including the Deputy Chairman, manage the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida NDC.

The Overseer pointed out that the NDC controls building, infrastructure and the collection of rates and taxes.

She stated that they have 10 constituencies and also

process building applications, approval and recommendations, and cleaning of drains and parapets.

They do not do any garbage collection since they do not have a landfill site in the region, and it is too costly for the undertaking because they do not own a garbage truck.

Gopaul added that they have a tractor/trailer with a slasher and that is often utilised for the maintenance of parapets along the main public road, schools and community centre grounds.

Recently they were gifted a brand-new tractor via central government for community development, but they desperately need a mini excavator to upgrade the drainage and irrigation network in the catchment villages they oversee.

The Overseer told the Pepperpot Magazine that they need skip bins for garbage collection and residents have been slow in paying up their rates and taxes.

She disclosed that only 90 per cent of locals pay up

and it is not enough to do any real developmental works in the villages.

Gopaul reported that the new housing scheme of Stewartville South will accommodate more than 1100 house lots and that development is expected to occur soon, since allocation was done.

She noted that even though some people do not pay any rates and taxes, they make demands and they still have to provide services.

Stewartville/Cornelia Ida NDC, Savitri Gopaul

The cane harvester, Ganesh Sooklall

Bangladesh Street, Stewartville South, West Coast Demerara

MANAGING AIR QUALITY

GOOD air quality is important for good health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that approximately seven million people are affected by poor air quality where they live. Air pollution can cause both short-term and long-term effects on health and many people are concerned about pollution in the air they breathe.

Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities, and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concerns include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases.

WHO data shows that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits and contains high levels of pollutants, with low and middle income countries suffering from the highest exposures.

At the national level, Guyana has exceedingly good air quality. Instances of air quality issues arise at the local level from most unauthorised facilities. EPA’s complaints records show that furniture workshops, spray painting operations,

and small agricultural farms are the major sources of air pollution in communities.

As the lead environmental regulator, the EPA is mandated to take several actions to ensure that Guyanese enjoy good air quality – from educat-

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MANAGING AIR...

FROM PAGE XII

ing the public and business community and drafting standards to monitoring facilities and investigating complaints.

The Air Quality Regulations 2000 provide rules for the

reduction and prevention of air pollution in Guyana.

Any person who emits air contaminants shall register with the Environmental Protection Agency and a person who emits any air contaminant in the construction, installation, operation, modification, or extension of any facility relating to (a) industry; (b) commerce; (c) agriculture; or (d) any institution, shall apply to the agency for an environmental authorisation.

As part of its programme to monitor air quality in Guyana, the EPA has partnered with IQ Air – an international entity that maintains an online platform that tracks global air quality. During 2022, five air quality sensors were donated to Guyana and installed at locations across Guyana’s coast, including a unit in Linden. Through these sensors, the EPA can remotely monitor air quality within a 20-mile radius of

You can be a citizen scientist – most smartphones are equipped with weather apps that track air quality in your area. Sources

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O Commu-

nications Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, Georgetown, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

the unit and receive alerts of changes in air quality. Visit https://www.iqair.com/guyana for more information.

How can you help to maintain good air quality?

Keep the greenery outdoors - In¬door plants are pretty, but they can also collect and foster the growth of mold which has an impact on respiratory health.

Car pool with friends, co-workers, or family members to reduce the number of vehicles on our roadways.

Don’t burn your trash - Burning your household trash can affect air quality by releasing harmful chemicals

Plant and care for trees - Trees filter pollutants and absorb carbon dioxide. Trees also release oxygen into the atmosphere and help cool our homes.

Our changing world remains the conflict between believing and understanding… enough

I WAS in America some years ago and I was hungry. Before me, I had a sandwich and a brand-name box of orange juice. I don’t know what made me look at the expiry date, but I was motivated to call someone, because orange juice fumigates after a few days; even in the fridge. Since the person that I was calling worked at a certain place, they should know and be able to provide the explanation that I was seeking. I was confident. I was told after a chat that because I was where I was staying, and

it was a chilly fall night, I could drink some of the juice, but in the future, shop at the ‘Farmers Market’, and get myself a blender.

I was also told some other stuff, which I didn’t know. I think that I was fortunate to have cultivated into maturity an attitude encouraged by the elders that I grew with, not to believe everything, but to listen, then compare, and that nothing was wrong with being a ‘Doubting Thomas’. Thomas doubted, and Christ engaged his doubts. When I had this conversation in my mid-teens, and I replied that, “Thomas had no faith”, my father laughed in that matter-of-fact way of his and countered, “Christ understood more than you li’l bhai. Suppose was a devil pretending to be Christ, how would dem humble apostles know the difference?” I had no counter for that, but it meant a lot to home my observations later.

I realised that the man under the influence of whatever, who waves a weapon threateningly, may be a lesser evil than the man who smiles with you and lies deceptively, to your detriment. By a man’s works shall he be known; blind faith requires the lack of energy to enquire. That brings into relevance the old parable, “Yuh living in yuh own bubble,” and if a bubble is big enough, when it does burst it can drown you in waves of depression, and the physical (that can be fatal) illnesses that follow that kind of disappointment. Observation also brings disappointment, but with the understanding that you were deceived or deceived yourself after the anger, that new awareness can be countered by a rough evaluation towards a sober realisation, and a much more balanced perspective towards the future.

Then there is the real world we are aware of but do not necessarily live in, which also demands that we take time off to pay attention to. Recently, Germany shut off its relationship with nuclear power as an energy source. A scientist named Heinz Smital was one of the multitudes of German citizens behind this. His awakening had come from the 1986 Chornobyl Disaster in Russia, when, days after the incident, he had waved a damp cloth outside of the window of the University of Vienna to sample the city’s air and was surprised at how far nuclear contamination could spread, and nuclear contamination is fatal to organic life.

In the same World News page Sunday Stabroek 16, April 2023, Germany again was examining Chinese components in its 5G network, in concluding the German fears “there are concerns that such companies’ with close links to Beijing’s security services, could mean that embedding them in the mobile networks of the future could give Chinese spies and even saboteurs access to essen-

SEE PAGE XXVII

ANURADHA – RETURN TO THE MOTHERLAND

ANURADHA stood at the water’s edge, staring wistfully at the dark waters of the restless river.

The wind moaned as it whipped past her, as though the voices of those who had perished during the long journey were calling from the depths. She stretched her arms out, as the water lashed against her lithe body, her long dark brown hair falling loosely down her back, in her hazel eyes, the pain she felt for those souls. It had been a long time since the last ship came, but every year, on this day, a strange calling from afar would beckon her to the water’s edge.

In the beginning, she did not understand the visions of the strange ship and the little girl on board, a scared and uncertain look in

decades ago, from India in the East. She often wondered why she felt this deep love for a place she never saw or lived in and was enchanted so much by its culture, its people, the devotees of a rich religion, the spices and silk, the divinity of songs, and mesmerizing dances. Her dreams and visions made it so real, for she was, in her mother`s words, a reborn soul. The yearning to return, Anuradha now understood, but she was mystified by the intense desire she felt she had to fulfill. Her father had said to her when she was just eight years old, “When you’re sixteen, I’ll take you back home.”

The time was now.The little girl who had crossed the dark waters of the Kala Pani, as Armatie, many decades ago, was returning as

the Shiva statue on the hilltop, and the gun-guru bells.

Her eyes closed for a short moment and, for the first time, she saw the vision of a baby she was holding and she whispered, “Aarti,” and sat up with a start.

The plane landed and Anuradha holding on tightly to her mother’s and father’s hands, stepped out with trembling legs, her heart thudded against her chest. A gust of cold wind touched her face and she smiled as her feet touched the motherland. An exult feeling ran through her entire being and she laughed and cried as she knelt to kiss the earth, Armani’s last words echoing in her head, “I will return to you, dear mother, my feet will walk again on the sacred earth.”

This was home, this was where she belonged. She had longed so much to return, and now her spirits felt free, her heart rejoiced as the train roared through the countryside to the district of Mirzapar from where she came, the passing landscapes, the villages, the people she looked at in awe.

It was almost dusk when they reached the small village of Fathaha nestled between two hills.

her big brown eyes. But as time went on and she grew older, her mother explained it all as episodes of a past life replayed in her mind. The little girl on the ship, Anuradha was told, was her grandmother, Armatie, who came to this land many

Anuradha, across the seas for home where her story began.The journey by air was long, but Anuradha couldn’t sleep. The anxiety in her heart grew stronger as they got closer and she saw vividly in her mind the dusty village, the mud huts,

Anuradha stood for a while, not sure where she was, for it had changed so much. There were no mud huts or roads but new houses, shops, and a cinema. She walked tentatively to where her family’s mud hut had stood and smiled as she recalled her mother cooking on her earthen stove – a poor life, yet so rich in memories. A neat, new house stood there and before Anuradha called, the door opened and a young girl stared at her curiously. Anuradha smiled, not knowing what to say. Too much time had passed, there was probably no one she knew, still alive. She

SEE PAGE XXXIX

The locals of Bangladesh Street...

FROM PAGE VII

than a year ago, she left three children and since their father had died earlier, there was no one to take them in.

Deosarran disclosed that life is fair in that part of the community, but when it rains, the water would reach up to their gate and at times in the yard.

Along this sideline dam, there are about 20 houses with about 50 residents including small children and they have been asking for a concrete walkway.

Deosarran related that they have electricity, potable water supply, internet but no landline phone and road.

Her daughter is married and lives in the same yard and she is the mother of two.

Bibi Taslina, the home-maker

On Stewartville Line Top there is the home of Bibi Tasli-

na, a housewife of three, who was busy with some household chores.

The 42-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is originally from Leguan Island, Essequibo River and moved to Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, 19 years ago after marriage.

She stated that she is the caretaker for the house she is occupying and the one next door and her husband is attached to the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida NDC as a CIIP worker.

Taslina reported that the property she occupies was owned by a couple who had a private school housed in the yard but is closed.

“Things are okay here except the village addicts would come in the yard and pick all the fruits from the trees, especially mangoes and if you say anything they get verbally abusive and violent,” she said.

The smiling Bibi Taslina

World Malaria Day 2023...

they can receive the appropriate treatment,” Thomas shared in an interview with Pepperpot Magazine.

While being the only microscopist can be challenging at times, Thomas said she enjoys her job because it can make a difference in patients’ lives. She hopes others will join the field of Malaria microscopy because there’s a need in the country. She called attention to the number of cases that come up when people travel to various interior locations.

Stressing on the need to get tested when symptoms appear, she said: “Malaria is a preventable and curable disease. However, it is a serious public health problem in many parts of the world and it can lead to death if left untreated.”

Malaria, she reminded, is caused by a parasite which infects a person’s red blood cells. It can transmit through the bite of a female mosquito and some of the best ways to protect against it is to use bed nets, light-coloured and long sleeve clothing, repellants, window screens, etc.

Meanwhile, according to WHO, the most common early symptoms of malaria are fever, headache and chills. Symptoms usually start within 10–15 days of getting bitten by an infected mosquito. They may be mild for some people, especially for those who have had a malaria infection before. Because some malaria symptoms are not specific, getting tested early is important, the WHO states.

Some types of malaria

FROM PAGE II

can cause severe illness and death. Infants, children under five years, pregnant women, travellers and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk, the WHO said, adding that severe symptoms include: extreme tiredness and fatigue, impaired consciousness, multiple convulsions, difficulty breathing, dark or bloody urine, jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin) and abnormal bleeding.

“People with severe symptoms should get emergency care right away. Getting treatment early for mild malaria can stop the infection from becoming severe. Malaria infection during pregnancy can also cause premature delivery or delivery of a baby with low birth weight,” the WHO warned.

As a Malaria microscopist, Daisia tries to help patients get diagnosed in a timely way

Daisia Thomas is the only certified Malaria microscopist at ‘West Dem’ hospital

How safe are dental materials?

FOR many years the dental profession worked mainly with rather inert (stable) materials that had limited contact with living tissue. The exception was dentures. The opportunity for local and systemic complications was, therefore, quite minimal. Now materials and devices are being treated

more like drugs. They must meet the safety and efficacy requirements of drugs and medical devices. For example, the government of Sweden banned the use of silver (amalgam) fillings. This was after the whole world had been using it for two centuries.

More than ninety percent of the time that someone has dental treatment, the attending dentist uses a drug or material characteristic of dentistry. But ask yourself this, are they safe? Are there any side effects of dental materials? Since these

SEE PAGE XXXIX

Stewartville South...

over the years the place has developed and modern houses replaced old zinc ones.

The yards and the environment in Stewartville South are tidy and the same can be said for the houses which are well-painted in different colours and the people seems very comfortable.

NDC on Bangladesh Housing Scheme

According to Stewartville/Cornelia Ida NDC Deputy Chairman, Paul Narine Bangladesh Housing Scheme South/West was established in the 1980s when the then Estate Manager of Leonora allocated estate lands to the workers who were squatting near the estate.

He reported that they are living on the sideline dam at Leonora and it is believed that 71 houses were allocated plots.

Narine stated that the population size has likely changed over the years but the area was regularised and residents are now benefitting from electricity, potable water supply, internet and landline phones.

He disclosed that the mud dam running through the village was replaced with an all-weather road and they are currently paving the road to be asphalted on Line Top which is about 50 metres to the ball field and around.

Narine added that in the New Housing Scheme will see that area which was once cane fields being transformed into a large community.

The NDC Deputy Chairman added that Stewartville Line Top will be paved with double base tar surface which is expected to start soon since preparatory works are completed.

In addition, the ball field will be upgraded in which some land filling will be done to lift the standard of the place for recreational activities.

Narine pointed out that within the NDC they have a total of 18 Community Infrastructure Improvement Programme (CIIP) workers who maintain the parapets by manual garbage collection and clean the drains in the villages that falls under their catchment.

FROM PAGE VI Tamarind Dam, Stewartville

Millet set to play important role in Guyana’s agricultural revolution

THIS year, 2023, has been designated International Year of Millet (IYOM) by the United Nations, with the intent of bringing to the attention of Governments and Ministries of Agriculture worldwide the value of a crop that could help to counter the food shortage which is affecting many parts of the world, and also could help to balance the nutritional deficiencies of their diets.

Millets are among the first food plants to be domesticated by human beings, and are still a traditional staple food crop in Sub- Saharan Africa and Asia. Though it is grown in many countries, India is the top producer, followed by Nigeria, Niger and China.

Millets, like many cereals, is a grass, and encompasses a diverse group of small-grained, dryland cereals. They can survive in harsh growing conditions with poor soils, have climate resilience, and are adaptable. These characteristics would allow semi-desertification lands to produce more food with millet cultivation, and for those countries better endowed by nature to even achieve food surplus.

Millet used to be much more consumed worldwide than it is today, but with the shifting food preferences to cereals like wheat and rice, the demand for millet and its production fell. With the current food shortages worldwide, and many developing countries’ desire to create more opportunities for small-scale farmers, millet is beginning to recover lost ground. Guyana is an example of a country which is developing its millet cultivation with the intention of supplying the local market and later exporting.

Millet provides a very healthy diet; it is gluten-free, and rich in minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. It also contains dietary fibres and vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B6, carotene and niacin.

Millet could be ground into flour, or used in other ways. The fact of its being used in so many different cultural regions results in its being cooked and prepared in many different ways, and the repertoire of its recipes could satisfy any taste.

Though now a notable oil-and-gas producer bringing in large revenues, Guyana is determined not to be caught in the syndrome of the Dutch Disease or resource curse, and is diversifying its economic base using part of the oil revenues to do this. One very important area of diversification is Agriculture.

Traditional Guyanese agriculture revolved around the production of rice, sugar, ground provisions and fruit. This traditional base is being developed, while new expansion is taking place in livestock, dairy, fishing, and the introduction of new crops. Among these new crops is millet.

Production of millet is an attractive option for small farmers, who will have increased employment; it will, in time, be partly an imported wheat substitute, enrichen the population’s diet, and surplus production could find a niche market in the very large Indian Diaspora. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Carnegie School of Home Economics should begin to explore the millet recipes from various parts of the world, and promote the use of the cereal.

Guyana has secured the help and partnership of India, who will provide a team of experts to develop several millet farms. India will provide technical assistance and training, and will help Guyana to promote the grain in the Caribbean and South America. Haiti, with its exhausted soils, could be a beneficiary from Guyana’s aid in this regard.

Millet production is about to take off, and all are confident of its success.

Community care is just as important as self-care

THE term “self-care” has been adopted into so many aspects of the media and societal landscapes in recent years. Even through my articles, I’ve referenced it on multiple occasions. I’ve done so with the understanding that one ought to take care of themselves first, before all else if they want to live a productive and fulfilling life. Without discarding that notion, I recently came across the concept of; “community care”. While I understood in generalities what it entails, I’ve done some reading to see it all under one umbrella and how it’s entirely different from self care.

Community care has always existed in many ways. I’ve come across research and work suggesting we ought to fix the communities we live in while encouraging people to take care of themselves. What sense does it makes if we ask them to practice self-care when they’re socially isolated and without social support?

Community care involves more than one individual and can involve small groups of just three persons or larger groups with hundreds of persons. The term is often used in certain social movements and projects worldwide. However, it’s not a common term as “self-care” because it’s yet to meet the mainstream world. In hindsight, community care is any act that

one individual does to benefit the lives of others. Mainstream media hasn’t been able to dictate what you can and cannot do because there’s not much to capitalise on. Community care solutions cannot be capitalised as the solutions of self-care. Nonetheless, community care comes in many forms and can be done online or offline.

Protesting, social movements, helping a disadvantaged social group, helping to pick up your neighbor’s children if they’re running late, attending a typical Guyanese “wake house” for a bereaved family, creating a safe space online for friends and family are all acts of community care. It’s not just about “showing up” for people. It’s about practising compassion. You’re the one who takes the first step in helping them without them asking for it. Community care can be generous acts of kindness and compassion or they can also take the form of a structured approach such as; non-profit community

SEE PAGE XXVIII

Guyana learning from others

GUYANA is open for business, that much is clear. There has been no shortage of engagements between Guyanese officials and business delegations from other countries. And a visit from India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and a business delegation is only the most recent engagement.

Over the past several years, India has demonstrated considerable interest in Guyana, particularly in the oil sector. The country has been seeking a long-term oil supply deal, though it has bought at least one consignment of oil produced in Guyana.

Additionally, Indian companies, for years, invested in Guyana. Now, however, the country seems intent on further business cooperation in several other productive sectors, such as agriculture or infrastructure development.

What’s interesting about India- at least for me- is that India is a global south, developing nation that is pushing itself as a global leader. It now has the world’s largest pop-

ulation, which means that its leadership is tasked with improving the well-being of an enormous number of people.

Like a daily mantra, every Indian official I met during my recent trip to India described the South- Asian nation as a developing country “impatient” about its development. That means the government is keen on implementing measures that will allow it to quicken its growth, including implementing digital reforms and welfare schemes while building new, much-needed infrastructure. These efforts are apparent in India.

Despite the foregoing, India is plagued by substantial challenges. In Mumbai and Delhi, the two cities I visited, skyscrapers tower over slums, signalling housing and living inequalities. The air quality in some places poses a threat to health and colourism, racism and creedism are not ills that have been eradicated, and poverty persists.

India and its challenges are not unlike Guyana and many countries. Still, the country is trying to position itself as a global force. And on an economic front, if nothing else, it seems to be succeeding. It is no surprise that the country takes a lot of pride in its presidency of the G20 this year, but this is just a part of the country’s development.

Others agree.

“Within this shifting global landscape, India has the opportunity to put in place a new framework for its own security, growth and development, and that of developing countries around the world. As a rising global power, this must be India’s principal endeavour in the coming decades,” the World Economic

Not stepping down...

FROM PAGE III

world after completing their studies. “A lot of artists come to me with good portfolios but they can’t make any money. For people to be interested, they have to show initiative because it’s hard to even get people to look at your art these days.”

Offering some advice to fellow artists, Meertins urged: “Don’t give up. Explore every possible opportunity. Even if nothing happens at certain levels, you keep doing your art. If you stop and wait for that opportunity, you stagnate yourself…which is something I never did. I just kept on and on. Over the last three years, everyone said to me why

The train station in Georgetown in 1945

are you going to the studio and you’re not making any money? But I went every day for three years.”

Meertins has just completed models of the proposed Demerara Harbour Bridge that will be built soon by the Chinese.

Our changing world remains the conflict ....

FROM PAGE XX-

tial infrastructure”.

If these are German concerns, the nation whose scientists Wernher Von Braun, Heisenberg, and others before and after WWII spearheaded America’s development of the Atom Bomb-see-‘Hitlers’ Scientists, John Cornwel and also some in other streams who should have died at Nuremberg1945. The bottom line to all this is our vulnerability at every level of computerised operations that can be manipulated by externals with more intelligent technology toward their interests.

Thus, I am doubtful that our concept of Independence is still viable or merely ceremonial. It brings me back to the onset of the ‘Smart phone’ the idea was promoted that the phone is smart not to the owner but to whoever owns the technology that created the phone.

I always thanked that young lady that came forward with that ‘wise up’ with that online video. As well in George Orwell’s book, ‘Big Brothrer’s watching you’, incidentally, “he ent yuh, big brother”.

There are other simple things that we need to be aware of. How we eat is one of them - habits like alcohol and marijuana that can lead to problems, even fatal, that are social and cultural- proposed stress relief habits. This machismo culture ‘ting’ got to change, and I must address its realm next time.

Community care is ...

FROM PAGE XXV

organisations and support groups. The community care practice is vital for marginalised and vulnerable groups in society. For some people, their culture is based on a social or group identity. They cannot function effectively without being able to have a supportive and open group. As such, in some communities worldwide and even in Guyana—community care is essential and a holistic approach to wellness and health.

“Self-care alone can’t solve systemic issues”. That’s a quote from an article written by Heather Dockray on Mashable that stood out to me in my readings about community care. Self-care is done to brighten one’s mood, but if you live in a community with little to no chance of employment for people of your social group, there’s only so much self-care can do.

We often ask people to “be positive” or to take care of themselves without ever taking time to understand how their environments affect them and their wellness. It should be not however that self-care is still an important component of wellness and community care cannot happen without. Oftentimes, however, one is prioritised over the other and that’s where most of the gaps are. They should be addressed side by side, despite their differences. As you actively take care of yourself—I hope you find the time to help others close to you or in the same community as you. We’re social beings and we can all work together to create spaces that are meaningful and welcoming to all. We can work together to help each other navigate through systems that are built to keep us down.

Guyana learning...

Forum wrote in 2018.

FROM PAGE XXVI

Now, about five years later, the country continues to record substantial growth in the face of global uncertainties.

According to an April World Bank report, the Indian economy demonstrates resilience despite global challenges. Economic growth in the country this year is pegged at 6.9 per cent for the full year with real GDP growing 7.7 percent yearon-year during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2022/23.

Because of its prowess in several productive sectors (but especially manufacturing, healthcare and agriculture), India is believed to be a good partner for Guyana. And Guyanese officials have openly called on Indian companies to invest more here while Guyana seeks to deepen its bilateral ties with the state.

I can’t speak on the benefits or disadvantages of a deeper partnership with India beyond what government officials have said publicly. I do think that Guyana can learn from India.

Both developing countries hope to provide global leadership and are benefitting from substantial economic growth necessary for their populations’ development.

If you would like to connect with me to discuss this column or any of my previous work, feel free to email me at vish14ragobeer@gmail.com

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.

G. K. CHESTERTON (1874-1936)

The Hammer of God

STUDY SUCCESS

Dear Student,

Welcome dear friend. Part of your language performance skills came through instruction and processing. These essentialsare listening, speaking, reading and writing,which do provide structure and relevance to whatever information you wish to handle for a chosen audience. But soon your expertise in writing and speak-

April 30, 2023

ing will be called into focus. Remember, in these, there are three purposes to tinker with: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. Choose one purpose for your major emphasis.Take care.

Love you.

IMPROVING PUNCTUATION

Accurate use of the hyphen (-) in certain types of compound words

Correct punctuation is essential to accurate expression of meaning. If after writing and reading your effort aloud the correct meaning of the material can be recognised quickly and easily without reading, then it is likely there is no further punctuation necessary.

Let us continue to look at the proper use ofthe hyphen.

a) Use hyphens in the following types of compound words:

(1) Compound cardinal and ordinal numbers: twenty-one, four hundred sixty-eight, twenty-fifth

(2) Fractions used as adjectives: one-eighth cup of honey

(3) Compound direct adjectives (including coined ones): with that come-catchme-if you-can laughter, a can’t-go-wrong scheme

(4) Compounds of a noun and a prepositional phrase: man-of-the-moment

(5) Compounds ending in a proper noun: un-Christian

(6) Compound titles containing ‘vice,’‘ex,’or ‘elect’: vice-chancellor, ex-husband, secretary-elect, co-worker

(7) Compounds beginning with the prefix ‘self’: self-made, self-service,

(8) Special compounds, such as drive-in, turn-off, cook-up

If two or more compound words have the same base, hyphenate thus: the first- and second-place winners

(9) Compounds in which mispronunciation might result otherwise: pre-diabetes, anti-retroviral, co-worker, over-react

b) Use a hyphen to show the omission of a connecting word.

The English-German War (‘and’ omitted), verses 7-15 (‘through’ omitted)

Something to Do

A. Supply hyphens

where they are needed in the following exercises.

1. What were the terms of the Washington Greenfly Treaty?

2. Although Gregory Fraser won first prize, Johnny Henry was runner up.

3. The Secretary Accountant was elected by a two thirds majority.

4. Her so what attitude cost her a trip to Region 9.

5. Her sister in law came to her rescue when she was down and out.

6. He is the President elect.

7. More than one ex governor has become President.

8. The group member insisted that she and the checker counted fifty five greeting cards in the cupboard.

B. Examine stories in magazines on home and gardening to find good original compound adjectives. You may even enjoy trying to coin similar expressions for those ideas.

THE PASSAGE

Reading a text with comprehension

His words were like a thunderclap. The wretches! That was what they had posted up at the Town Hall.

My last French lesson! And I hardly knew how to write. I would never learn now! How bitterly I regretted all the lost time, all the lessons missed to rob nests and go sliding on the Saar. My books that a while ago I had found such a bother… The thought that M. Hamel was going away…

Poor man! It was an honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men from the village were sitting at the back of the room. It was also a way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service, and of showing their respect for the country that was no longer theirs.

Suddenly, in the middle of my thoughts, I heard my name called. It was my turn to recite that terrible rule for the participle… I heard M. Hamel say to me: “I won’t scold you, Franz my boy; you must feel bad enough…”. See how it is.”

Something to Do

1. Give possible meanings for these words found in the passage:wretches, thunderclap, Sunday clothes, faithful service.

2.What else do you think Franz was doing when not in class? Think about five activities.

3. Could books feel heavy at one point of schooling? Why was it like this for Franz, do you think?

4. Give the reason for the author saying these words about the old men: “showing their respect for the country that was no longer theirs.”

5. “It was my turn to recite that terrible rule for the participle.” Why was the rule called terrible by Franz? Give three possible reasons.

6. M. Hamel would have said something to Franz about ‘tomorrow’ also. What could he possibly have said to Franz about ‘tomorrow’?

7. Write a short story about a boy who neglected his schooling and soundly regretted it in the end. Make it clear why the regret was so resounding. Follow the plot in the passage and your responses to questions.

The Examination

Planning your time in the composition question

Do not spend all your time writing the composition. You would invite failure especially if you have to choose another topic to write on. Do other things before, such as:

1) plan your composition carefully in your mind, so that it has unity;

2) be clear what your four or five paragraphs will contain;

3) begin to write, being clear on style of expression;

4) be accurate in punctuation, spelling, grammar;

5) remember that marks are given for quality, not so much quantity – provided that your composition is of the minimum length, as stipulated.

How safe are dental...

substances are not generally known to the public, how can one make a biological evaluation of them? This is especially true for Guyana, where 100 percent of the dental materials used are imported.

We in Guyana are fortunate in the sense that we are relatively protected by restrictions existent for the manufacture of dental materials in some countries like the United States and Britain. This cannot be said for dental materials originating in many Third World countries where the standardisation system does not require protracted testing before the laboratories can release the materials on the market. Since every single dental drug and material is imported and because local legislation now does not regulate in any way the use of any of these substances, dentists should be careful about their utilisation.

Certain dental materials, such as composite resin (used for anterior teeth fillings), are chemically active compounds and may have a detrimental effect on the pulp. Amalgam (silver filling material), because of its mercury content and impression materials because of

their former lead content also stimulated considerable interest. Endodontic (root canal) therapy involves the most dangerous drugs in dentistry. Many of the medications used are very poisonous. The procedures require canal obtrusion with drugs and materials that remain in constant contact with living tissues.

The most common drug used in dentistry is lidocaine, used as a local anaesthetic mainly for extractions. The active ingredient is chemically like the illicit drug cocaine, but the part of the toxic molecule that causes addiction was removed.

Cocaine was discovered by the Incas, an indigenous tribe of South America who used this extract from the coca plant to numb wounds on the skin. However, it was not until 1884 that Dr. Carl Koller used cocaine medicinally as the first local anaesthetic. It is interesting to note that even after nearly a century in which a weak solution of cocaine ceased to be used for anaesthetic, Guyanese remain the only people that I know who refer to dental anaesthetic as cocaine.

Even though we do not manufacture dental materials and drugs there is a need to legislate and regulate their use. Biocompatibility is the keyword. The

history of the development of controls, standards, and guidelines began almost 500 years ago and is detailed chronologically up to the present time. An outline of the latest revised draft of the International document (ISO Technical Report No. 7405), completed recently for harmonising human standards within the EC has been presented. The Bureau of Standards needs to include dental materials in its list of controlled drugs because “dental quacks” have a field day in importing sub-standard materials from questionable sources. A way to eliminate these illegal practitioners is to restrict the availability of dental material by making its possession illegal for persons not licensed to practise dentistry. No amount of experimental study can guarantee absolute safety for any substance. However, toxicological investigations provide data from which reasonable projections and predictions can be made about the conditions under which the product can be safely used. In today’s world, in which the development of a country is measured by how serious it views standards, it would be a boost in this context for the authorities to examine this question.

RETURN TO...

FROM PAGE XV

closed her eyes, and turned to go when she heard a weak, soft voice whisper, “Armani.”

Anuradha gasped, not sure she heard right. The little girl took her hand and beckoned her inside. In the middle of the small sitting room, surrounded by her family, an old, feeble woman lay in a cot.

The vision of a baby she held in her arms flashed back in Anuradha’s mind and she cried, “Oh my god.”

It was her baby sister who had been too young to make the journey.

She dropped to her knees, tears spilling from her eyes, “Aarti, you’re still alive!”

“I was waiting for you. You promised me you would come back.” She said in Hindi, her voice barely audible. The old woman handed her a piece of old, worn paper and on it was written in a childish scribble, “I will return.”

“I’m so sorry.” Anuradha cried. She now understood, the deep yearning to return, that the rebirth of Armani’s soul was to fulfill her promise to her baby sister.

Now Aarti felt she could die in peace. Her waiting was over, for her sister had returned to sing the songs she had sung such a long time ago.

Anuradha put on her gun gurus as the village celebrated the return of one of its children.

Tonight, she would dance for Lord Shiva, for her new family, for Mother India, the divine Kathak, and the dance of the Gods.