People who are changing the world
DEAR EDITOR,
I want to share with you some stories about people changing the world.
First, who can forget the picture of an unidentified Chinese man blocking a tank in protest.
It has become a global symbol of freedom and defiance, immortalized in pictures, TV shows, posters and T-shirts.
But three decades after the Chinese Army’s grinding demonstrations focused on Tiananmen Square, “Tank Man” – the person who bravely confronted a convoy of tanks barreling down a boulevard in Beijing – is as much a mystery as ever.
Tank Man was photographed on June 5, 1989 just after a deadly government campaign to clear Tiananmen Square of protesters.
Second, who can forget these words from the 2Pac Rapper. “It’s just me against the world. Nothin ‘to lose. It’s just me against the world, baby. I got nothin ‘to lose, it’s just me against the world. Stuck in the game. Me against the world, baby. ”
Third, there was the story of a military veteran who set himself on fire near the Capitol of the State of Georgia while “wearing a vest lined with fireworks and flammable devices” to protest the Veterans Affairs system. Officials identified the man as John Michael Watts, he was “dissatisfied” with the VA system.
Fourth, there was the story of the Arab spring uprisings. The Arab spring was triggered in Tunisia when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire.
Here is what was reported. Manoubia Bouazizi has become used to the idea that her son Mohamed no longer belongs to her but to the Arab world.
In the streets near where she lives on the outskirts of Tunis, she is stopped by people who know her, who has heard that she is the mother of a market trader who set herself on fire in protest against an authoritarian regime, which started the Jasmine Revolution, and thus the Arab spring.
Editor, I can see parallels between these stories and what Glenn Lall is doing in Guyana. Mr Lall is one of a few who fight against the huge oil companies. It’s laying it all out to get the oil companies to change the bad oil contracts.
He is the “Tank man of the nation.” It faces the oil companies boldly. Like 2Pac, it’s Glenn Lall against the oil companies. He has nothing to lose. He is angry with opposition and government officials for refusing to fight against the oil companies.
Like Mohamed Bouaziz, Mr Lall was a market seller so he can identify with Mohamed. Like Mohamed, Mr Lall is protesting against an authoritarian regime and perhaps hoping to boost Guyana’s revolution.
As editor, he has become a national symbol of freedom, defiance and pariah of the oil companies, the opposition and the government.
He is ready to fight for the Guyanese people until he takes his last breath.
Editor, by contrast, Glenn Lall is a man who fights against the huge oil companies, the odds and the world.
Observer