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I remember the first time I spotted him on the campaign trail leading up to the Coalition’s victory in 2015. He was wearing that green shirt and he wasn’t the one to make a lasting impression on me. It was his wife. First Lady Sandra Granger struck me as a no-nonsense woman who was well acquainted with rolling her sleeves up and getting things done.

When I heard that President David Granger was battling cancer and the whole nation buzzed with the latest gossip (“the President might die within the year”), my thoughts immediately went to his wife and then his family. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to watch the love of your life suffer.

Since then, I’ve witnessed “debates” (cuss-outs) here and there about whether the President should pursue a second term or retire to his family. I have rarely heard an acknowledgement of just how challenging it is for any human to make a decision like this. Sometimes, I think that many of us have forgotten how very human we all are.

For President Granger, the decision is a difficult one which will really be made by the layers of his family and community. There is no middle ground for him in this matter and any path ahead will require him to sacrifice.

Whether or not President Granger pursues a second term, his service to Guyana will continue as long as he lives. The way I see it, he doesn’t have a choice in the matter.

Without Wax,

Bharrat

Featured Image: Copyright Aubrey Odle (Check out his work @APro)

Disclaimer:

This article contains the personal views of the author and is in no way connected with any institution or group with which she may be affiliated.

A note from the Author:

Given the custom by party loyalists to misrepresent and misuse any type of political commentary to support their own positions, I feel that it is necessary to borrow the following from Thomas Paine (an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary) with whose work I became acquainted as a student of History at the University of Guyana:

Who the Author of this Production is, is wholly unnecessary to the Public, as the Object for Attention is the Doctrine itself, not the Woman. Yet it may not be unnecessary to say, That she is unconnected with any Party, and under no sort of Influence public or private, but the influence of reason and principle.

Craig Village, East Bank Demerara, May 7, 2019

Have a question or require further information? You can email me at sarabharrat@gmail.com