Young people should not lose hope in the future

Dear Editor,

Permit me to offer some words of encouragement to Mr. Dennis Anthony Glasgow, who wrote a beautiful, honest letter (‘Guyanese Youth are losing hope because of the politics of the old’) published in KN on 7-24-2020.

As I read Mr. Glasgow’s letter, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu, as his sentiments mirrored my own feelings post-2015. After having given both the major parties my votes over previous elections and been sorely disappointed by their lack of follow through on campaign promises, coupled with their childish behaviour in parliament and in government, I was left feeling the same sense of hopelessness and shame at our older leaders.

It is for this reason that I decided to step away from the nasty political culture nurtured by these traditional parties and join together with other younger folks to form The Citizenship Initiative (TCI). One particular part of his letter struck home; “We need to ensure that the young people, who will inherit this Guyana, are integrally involved in decision making as we move towards this new era of leadership that we deserve. I am not saying, select young people as tokens or select young people just because they are young but select young people who are capable, ready and willing to serve. We have many of them, it is just a matter of drawing them out by demonstrating that this “petty race baiting” nonsense is a thing of the past.”

To the young man and all others like him reading this letter, I first of all want to say you are absolutely right with all of your sentiments. I would like to encourage all of you to not lose hope, but instead get yourselves involved with a group that shares the same sentiments and is fueled by the desire to break the cycle of traditional stagnant, lip-service leadership that Guyana has been faced with over the years.

Mr. Glasgow writes, “I call on political parties to ensure that young people are represented in parliament. The same way we have established quotas for women to be represented in the house, I ask for parties to consider quotas for youth involvement at all levels of governance.”

I’d like to ask Mr. Glasgow to take a look at TCI’s website and go through our manifesto pillars, the first of which is ‘Participatory Citizenship, Enhanced Governance and Public Accountability’. Item number 6 on our Constitutional Reform agenda under this pillar is: “The inclusion of constitutional guarantees for youth involvement, similar to the current gender quota, specifically the constitutional provision that party representation in the national elections must include 30 percent of candidates 35 and under.”

I encourage him to explore those pillars, which I hope will result in illustrating to him why TCI was formed and our goal to challenge, improve and hold accountable all leaders of Guyana, regardless of political affiliation.

We also want what is best for the country, and it is from young, strong, honest minds like Mr. Glasgow’s that the spark necessary to ignite the wind of change in leadership will occur. I encourage Mr. Glasgow and any youth leaders who are looking to join the dialogue to reach out to TCI, we welcome your ideas, your passion and your conviction to move Guyana away from the old political ways and into the future. Do not lose hope – the future belongs to the young, brave and talented Guyanese like yourself. Step up and seize it.

Yours truly,
Shazaam Ally
The Citizenship Initiative