RIDDING OURSELVES OF THIS DANGEROUS COMPLEX

Is it that Guyanese have low selfconfidence and is that why more than ten of themwouldsitinaspeeding minibus, placing their lives at risk and not utter a single syllable demanding that the driver step off the accelerator?

No,Idonotbelieveitisa matter of low self-esteem, whichallowsGuyanesetosit silently in the presence of dangertotheirlives.

The real explanation has todowiththefactthatmany of us have not yet acquired that level of assertiveness, which could save so many lives from being lost on our roadways because of accidents involving speedingvehicles.

Whiletheproblemisnot low self-esteem, I believe it is directly related to a complex that we have developed and passed on to our children regarding those thatprovideservicestous.

Thatcomplexisonethat sees the person providing that service as being in a superior position and thereforewefeelinferiorand dependentonthatpersonand are thus reluctant to assert ourrights.

We have come to see those who provide services tous,servicesthatironically, we pay for, as doing us a favour,thattherewasatime in this country when some young women used to go crazy for minibus drivers andconductors.

Itwasabigthingtohave a boyfriend who was a minibus driver and many a young lady could be found boasting, “My man is a minibusdriver.”Itisnotthat thesegirlsthoughtsolowof themselves that they w o r s h i p e d t h e s e transportation providers.

Rather, it is they thought –andmanystilldo—highlyof these guys especially those with the ‘ready rides’ who driveasiftheywishtobethe successorsofEvilKnievel.

This complex has its roots in the food crisis that afflicted Guyana in the seventies and the eighties whenGuyaneseusedtohave to stand in line for hours on endforbasiccommodities.

In those days, when an itemwasshortandwasbeing rationed, which was most of thetime,personswouldhave to make some purchases at state-owned or operated outlets and then depending on the generosity of the cashier to decide whether howmuchofthescarceitem youwouldget.

If you were leaving Guyanaonaholidayinthose days,yourequiredataxexit certificate. When you went to apply and uplift this from the tax agency, you had better be respectful or else yourfilecouldbepulledand you could be denied an exit certificate.

Here again, the public was intimidated by those providingthisservice.

It was the same in many other areas of life including when a traffic cop stopped you on the roadway If you did not have your licence with you, you could bet that nine times out of ten, you wouldnotbeallowedtimeto presentthis.

Youfacedthepossibility of being issued a ticket for not having your licence on yourperson.

In the private sphere, it was the same. Flights out of Guyana were limited but if you had the contact in the travel agency, you stood a chance.

In the markets, you needed to be on good terms

Dem Boys Seh...

with whomever you made your purchases from so that thepersonwouldkeepsome of the scarce item for you, even if you were paying an inflatedpricefortheitem.So over time, we developed in Guyanaanesteemedopinion of those providing services forus.

When, for example, we wenttothebutchershopand themangaveusfiftypercent of the weight in bones, we could not complain because the next week, he could refuse to sell us and that would mean that we would have to do without. In hard times, this was not an opinion many people relished.

Today things have changed, competition is increased and customers do not have to accept substandard products. They candictatewhattheywant.

However, this same approach is taking time to filter down to other areas such as the transportation sector

This is why when three personsarealreadysittingin a seat in a minibus which caters for three and the conductors demand that a fourth be accommodated, it is not out of sympathy that most persons comply, it is simplybecausetheyfeelthat theycanasserttheirrightsto refusebecausetheyfeelthat it is his bus and that he can putthemout.

Public commuters fail to insistthattheyarepayingfor aserviceandthatthisservice places them in the superior position whereby they shouldinsistoncomfortand safety, rather than accepting whateverisdonetothem.

Theproblemofdeathson ourroadwaysisnotgoingto be changed by placing more trafficcops on the roadways