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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Traditional cures are often better than expensive medication On a recent visit to Kathmandu, Nepal, people were very pleased and relieved to see that the excellent buffet breakfast at the Shaligram Hotel where they stayed included yoghurt, good old home-made dahi. When one is travelling, in India or abroad, dahi at breakfast is not just a treat for my taste buds; it’s vital to the peace of mind. Or rather, to the peace of stomach. For year and years, whenever one would travel, one would suffer from what is variously known as Delhi Belly, or the Kolkata Collywobbles, or the Bengaluru Bogtrot. Simply put, this is diarrhea. One’s stomach would start acting up. It would act up so much that it would deserve a nomination for a Filmfare Award plus an Oscar. Travels became a travail of desperately looking for loos in the most awkward places at the most awkward times to find temporary relief from the rumblings and grumblings of my mutinous intestinal tract. The several specialist doctors consulted about the problem came up with different diagnoses. Colitis, said one. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, also known to its pals as IBS, said another. They prescribed different powerful, high-priced drugs. Nothing worked. The stomach continued to revolt, like a diehard Naxal militant. The word ‘surgery’ had not been mentioned, but it loomed ominously on the horizon. And then, in a London supermarket, there was a probiotic product that helps to restore the good bacteria in one’s gut and get the digestive process back on track. One traveller bought some of the stuff, and it worked like magic. The chronic traveltum problem was cured overnight. And what was this miracle medicine? Nothing but common dahi. To get which I didn’t have to go to a supermarket, in London or anywhere else. But this is not about any gastric problems. It’s about how old-fashioned home remedies are often far more efficacious cures for common ailments than all the fancily packed and even more fancily priced pharmaceutical products put together. Medical science has yet to find a cure for the common cold. But as all wise grandmothers know, an infusion made by steeping a few tulsi leaves in hot water is the best precautionary measure to take when you feel the sniffles coming. Sore throat? Forget those addictive cough mixtures with their high alcohol content which make you feel dopey and whoozy. The best cure for a sore throat is gargling with hot salt water. Bunny used to suffer from agonising cramps in her feet and legs at night which would wake her from sleep. A medic recommended huge doses of calcium combined with vitamin D first thing in the morning. Morning? No, no, said another medic. Morning was all wrong, the calcium-cumVit D blockbuster had to be taken at night, just before going to bed. Morning, night, nothing worked. The cramps kept coming. Then someone suggested she soak her feet for a few minutes daily in water in which two spoons of magnesium sulphate, also known as Epsom salts, had been dissolved. The cramps vanished as if a wizard had waved a wand to make them disappear. Chhoo mantar. And if you suffer from insomnia, instead of sleeping pills try a glass of warm milk just before bedtime. Or, better still, cut out this column and read it when required. Sleep guaranteed in five minutes, or your money back. There are other remedies that are so much cheaper than the expensive medications. Who can forget the concentrated sugar water when one suffered a fall? There is a perfectly good medical reason why this works. We still drink a dose of lemon and salt when we have a cough; we make poultice for wounds and the older people applied fire to a nail stick to ward off tetanus. Many people today are turning to “bush remedies” for everything. There are the aphrodisiacs which may or may not work but which people swear by. The talk is about herbs and surely, these were tired and proven until we became sophisticated.
Thursday March 12, 2015
Letters... Where your views make the news
As a Guyanese citizen, I condemn in the strongest terms this wanton killing DEAR EDITOR, At approximately 1930 hours on Tuesday evening, from where I reside, I heard at least five separate explosions which from the sounds, suggested they came from a firearm or from several firearms. I telephoned a contact who confirmed that an individual was shot at Diamond and shortly after I read the newsflash on Demerara Waves which gave the identity of the individual as Mr Courtney Crum-Ewing. As a Guyanese citizen, I condemn in the strongest terms this wanton killing of a young man whose only unlawful act just prior to his death by violent means may have been the use of a noisy instrument, a loud hailer, in a public place, without the necessary police permit.
As a former student of Queen’s College which was also Courtney’s alma mater, I mourn the death of a fellow alumnus. As a retired officer of the Guyana Defence Force, I am distressed that one, who at the time of enlistment and during his service would have pledged to lay down his life for his country and for his fellow ‘squaddies’, would have been marked for death in such a cold blooded and cowardly manner by perpetrators who did not even have the courage to face this unarmed citizen but fired their weapon from a vehicle in which they fled from the scene. Crum-Ewing had come to be known to the public through the media coverage of his one-man protests in Carmichael Street. He was
exercising his democratic right to protest. He was going about his advocacy work on Tuesday evening, in relation to the upcoming elections, noisily perhaps but peacefully. He did not deserve to die under such circumstances and this act of folly coming at a time when the environment is again politically charged, must not be contaminated by considerations being propounded by political spin doctors across the political spectrum. All political parties must unequivocally condemn this heinous act without seeking to attribute blameworthiness unless proven after investigations, so as not to cause panic in a society still seeking to mend the legacy of ruptures in the tapestry of Guyana’s multi-ethnic,
multi-religious and multicultural society. The forces of law and order must be allowed to objectively and professionally conduct their investigations and be given all support from officialdom and citizenry to bring the perpetrators to heel and have them face the full weight of the law in a process that is managed expeditiously. It is to be hoped that political leaders on their campaign trails will deal objectively and circumspectly with young Crum–Ewing’s death and those other traumatic events that occurred in Guyana’s recent history from the 1960s to date, and they will not seek to exacerbate tensions by ‘milking’ these for perceived political mileage. Joseph G Singh Major General (retd)
DISARMING THE ARMED BY MEANS OF AMNESTY DEAR EDITOR, Seeing that my Guyana Eldorado is on the brink of a major change, come May 11, would the country further benefit from a grand overhaul in the form of a gun amnesty? With the dawn of each new day, comes the loss of another citizen at the hands of a gun-wielding perpetrator. In my opinion, such an amnesty would serve a dual purpose, as it would hold both the Government and by extension the Police Force to higher standards thereby forcing them to embrace new paradigms, as the protection and security of the citizens remain always of prime
concern. In 1985, there was a gun amnesty of sorts, where Prime Minister Desmond Hoyte granted owners of illegal guns and ammunition until Oct. 31 to surrender their weapons without penalties, after which, new gun control laws, imposing severe punishment for arms violations would go into effect. In 2002, the then Security Minister Ronald Gajraj ruminated on a concern raised by the Guyana Police Force about an increase in gun-related crimes. He further added that the Guyana Government, which is the current Government,
My heart aches DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me some physical and emotional space to grieve for my true friend Courtney Crum-Ewing. RIP my brother Courtney. I remember our school days at QC. You an ardent E houser, while I was the quiet H houser. I remember those Facebook debates. I remembered how we both were trying to deal with the mental scars of our absent fathers. I remember we did not always agree, but at the end of it we remained very good friends. The banter we shared, I will remember. The
love for our daughters we shared. Only Tuesday I commented on your daughter’s beautiful picture and the confidence I have that like her daddy she will be not only an academic but someone with strong conviction. When my close friend Philip Vandeyar texted me this sad news I was devastated. Unable to sleep I turned to pills and potion. My heart goes out to his little angel he adored. I am shocked. RIP my brother. RIP my friend. RIP my hero. My heart aches. My eyes are sore. My emotions are raw. Dr. Mark Devonish
was considering an amnesty for individuals who surrender illegal firearms, in an effort to curb the flow of guns from neighbouring South American countries. On a cautionary note , at the selfsame time he added that while gun-related crimes was a major concern, he was in no position at the time to ascribe a time period for the effecting of such a venture, as he intended to look into previous responses to such situations. According to him, he had no intention of reinventing the wheel. Then again a few years later, in 2007, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, when called upon to outline the Government’s programme to arrest drug trafficking and to bring in the many illegal weapons on the street, saw as a remedial measure the adoption of a
more aggressive approach by the police in ascertaining the source of the supply. He further added that good intelligence was needed, such as procuring information from time to time as to where the guns were stashed which would help the trade of illegal weaponry. A gun amnesty translated and effected may not mean that more weapons will be off the street, or a reduction in functional firepower, as it is a complex and multifaceted problem, but at least it will be a start in taking some out of circulation, and sending a message that violence would not be tolerated. Yes, please note that I did not make any inference to the payment of money for collection, for not only does (Continued on page 5)
I really enjoyed the exciting debate DEAR EDITOR, I wish to extend congratulations to Ms. Ryhaan Shah and Mr. Ruel Johnson for the recent duel in the media and exchange of views intelligently on the nomination, selection and awarding of prizes for the Guyana Prize for Literature. I really enjoyed the exciting debate and representation of their respective arguments. Both writers were very articulate in presenting their views and both have presented justification for their individual positions. This is very admirable and ought to be practiced and adopted by like-minded, talented individuals in Guyana. Congratulations guys! I am proud of you both. Nazar Mohamed