Photo of Prez Ali on relief packages to St Vincent is exploitation of people’s vulnerability 

Guyana: People’s National Congress Reform, PNCR posted a statement in which they encouraged compassion, brotherliness over politics.

The St Vincent’s situation is worse, and people need humanitarian assistance. Guyana has sent aid to the people of St Vincent.

The supplies had photos of the Head of the State, which seems opportunistic rather than an act of kindness to Imran Khan(whose post shared by PNCR).

Imran Khan strongly denounced the megalomaniac screaming photo of the head of state was plastered on the relief packages.

People’s National Congress Reform, PNCR post(shared by Imran Khan):

Natural disasters at home or abroad are not to be politicized. It is a time for us to elevate ourselves beyond partisan politics and demonstrate compassion, brotherliness and be practical.

I am pleased to see that Guyana has sent aid to our brothers and sisters in St Vincent. It will appear as though there was a departure from the widely circulated list of urgently needed items, so some of the items we sent would have to be stored away for future use. Perhaps we sent what we had rather than focus on sending what is needed.

I was very disheartened to see, rather than a message of “from the people of Guyana” emblazoned on the cartons, a megalomaniac screaming photo of the head of state was plastered on the relief packages.

It screams of opportunism and exploitation of the distress and vulnerability of the people of St Vincent as they experience the worse natural disaster in their modern history.

Not even the relief packages from Venezuela had the photos of President Nicolas Maduro featured on them. The shipment of water sent from Grenada did not have the photo of Dr Keith Mitchell affixed to them. Dr Keith Rowley did not have his image plastered on the aid packages sent by Trinidad and Tobago.

When we cannot demonstrate common decency in times of natural disaster and dire need of people, and we exploit their unfortunate circumstances for cheap political gain, it diminishes us, not only as leaders but the entire country.

It telegraphs to the recipients and onlookers that we lack class and grace, and common decency. It casts us, all of us as a nation, on the regional stage as eager opportunists lacking basic human dignity.

It is particularly distressing that the head of state would engage in such behaviour, on the eve of Ramadan, when he, as a Muslim, would have had it inculcated in him from a tender age that, in Islam, so discreet must charitable acts be that when one gives with his right hand, his left hand must not know.

The optics and the manner in which the first shipment of aid from Guyana has been sent to St Vincent not only leaves much to be desired, but it is a betrayal of Islamic principles to which the head of state subscribes.

I hope that the good people of St Vincent would be able to excuse and forgive this foul opportunistic political exploitation in the process of sending them aid.

There will time come when Guyana may face some disaster and may require aid from our CARICOM brothers and sisters. How would we feel if, in our time of distress, some CARICOM Prime Minister or the other seeks to exploit our need for cheap partisan parochial political gain?

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