QUALITY OF LIFE

QUALITY OF LIFE AMIDST A BROKEN WINDOW SYNDROME

Harry Bissoon  3/22/2023


I have spent over thirty-five years away from the warm embraces of my extended family in Guyana. Nonetheless, my regular visits,  since departing its well trodden soil, are filled with glimpses of a broken social fabric which has ruptured, and continues to be torn apart, by basic inefficiencies and lack of effective enforcement. 


Economically, the nation, boosted into overdrive by its newfound oil splurge, seems well on the way to wealth and, hopefully, socio-economic  development with political stability. However, socially, it still seems as if there is a conundrum of misplaced values within the parameters of the social structure, leaving much to be desired.


The culture of loud music in public residential spaces, stretches to the extremes on the decibel spectrum to ear ringing ranges, and when it doesn't, the continuous pounding of bass, the piercing strumming of strings, and the screaming vocals of energized and erratic singers, invade the private spaces of restless residents. During the day the noise vibrates and provides stressful accompaniment to daily chores. In the late hours of the night, musical noise coming from night spots in the bosom of residential communities, invades and permeates the sleeping quarters of residents, making sleep a fitful and uncomfortable adventure. 


Civility, decency, and respect for established norms and values are cast asunder and thrown to the vagaries of the wind, so it seems, as unwritten bonds of conduct are shamelessly cast aside by aggressive and uncaring capitalists who wantonly place boom boxes outside of their place of businesses. Noise, vulgarity, lewdness, and a total disrespect and disregard for the neighborhood are openly displayed! Children are shooed away from windows to the confines of their rooms, where they lay awake, thinking of what goes on outside. 



Quality of life is of paramount importance in any society, and if social irregularities like what exist are not contained, then societal breakdowns will become an amoebic tarantula. Left undone, these broken window syndromes will degrade the quality of life and become more problematic to correct.


Resolution is simple if the enforcing authorities uphold the rule of law. But this does not always apply because the machinations of law breaking and policy enforcement are mired and bogged down in a system of mutual gratification and aggrandizement of law breaker and law enforcement. 


Until this fossilized stumbling block and impediment in the social fabric of Guyanese society is resolved, noise nuisance and all that it comes with, emanating from extremely high levels of amplified sound, the quality of life of Guyanese living in affected residential areas, will remain stressful, difficult, and full of unfulfilled peace and gratification!

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