… BG then, OIL now

As he’d written, your Eyewitness was a great fan of Sparrow – a social commentator par excellence, as he showed in the BG War!! He wondered what Birdie would’ve thought of the country now – and this is what he came up with:
Verse 1: “When I knew British Guiana, / Was sugar, rice and plenty drama; / Jagan, Burnham, union meeting, / Everybody quarrelling, nobody eating. / I sang of trouble, smoke and flame, / Neighbours frightened by a neighbour name. / Now I come back and hear the shout: / “Oil below!” – but what coming out?
Chorus: “Guyana, look how you grow! / Everybody courting you now, you know. / Yesterday they couldn’t find you on the map, / Today every big man sitting in your lap! / Build the bridge and light the town, / But let some sweetness trickle down. / Oil can turn the whole world round / Keep both feet on Guyana ground!”
Verse 2: “We hauled down Britain flag one day, / And told the Governor, ‘Go your way!’ / Then some who preached emancipation developed quite a taste for domination. / A ballot box should settle doubt, / Not need a struggle to count it out. / Freedom is more than flag and song. / The little man must tell you when you wrong!”
Chorus
Verse 3 – “I remember suitcase by the door: “‘Merica calling – I can’t take more!’” / Nurse and teacher, fitter, clerk, / Gone abroad to look for work. / Now cousin landing, full of grin: / “Which investment I could get in?” / Yesterday, “This country done!” Today, “I always was a loyal son!”
Chorus
Verse 4 – “New roads stretching, buildings high, / Hotel windows touching sky. / Ali moving from place to place / Even the cameraman can’t keep ‘e pace! / But a granny standing by the stall / Say, “Son, I glad to see it all; / Just make the pension and prices meet. / I can’t put a roundabout in me pot to eat!”
Chorus
Verse 5 – “Once cane was king across the land, / And sugar money ruled the hand. / Now offshore platforms take the stage, / And every fellow is an oil sage. / He can’t calculate change for bread, / But knows what Exxon should get instead! / Hear me, before the argument spoils: / Teach the children more than oil.
Chorus
Verse 6 – “Plant the rice and tend the ground, / Keep the workshop hammer sound. / Train the nurse, respect the teacher, / Don’t make every bright child a speechmaker. / When the oil cheque cease to flow, / What we built is what will show. / A nation’s wealth must still endure. / When the sea can’t send a barrel more!”
Chorus
Final verse – “And this old race talk – give it rest! / No oil well asking who ancestor best. / At rum shop, wedding, cricket ground, / Look how easy friendship found. / Then election come, some fellow say, “Put down your friend – come this way!”/ Tell him, “Boss, we know that game: you get the power; we get the blame!”
Chorus

…our air hub ambition
A decade ago, when the Chinks started rebuilding CJIA, we’d hoped to become a regional air hub – but it never took off. This time, Pressie’s renewed invitation with Terminal Two being built is more persuasive than architectural drawings – an economy attracting international attention and travellers!!
Passenger movements in 2025 are up 13.6 per cent over 2024 – since oil not only brings business travellers, visiting specialists, and commercial, but we don’t have to explain where Guyana is!! As Pressie proposed, we should seek an anchor airline with a credible connecting network while tying incentives to sustained services and measurable results!!
Your Eyewitness thinks our strongest opportunity lies in a focused network linking the Guianas, selected northern Brazilian cities, and the Caribbean – supported by our own expanding international traffic!!
Which saves passengers time or money – or both!!

…man’s inhumanity
Your Eyewitness is still reeling from the shock of hearing about that little six-year-old murdered by that SEVENTY-SIX old man – just because he had a money beef with the kid’s parents.
And the kid was running to hug the fellow!!