Preparations for Christmas 1999
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY
With Christmas only a week away, we asked the man\woman in the street to relate how they were preparing for this, the last Christmas of the 1900s. They were encouraged to talk both about their own experiences as well as their views on how Christmas was progressing for the country. Equally important was the question "Are you feeling the christmas spirit yet?". Their views follow: Victor London, mechanic: `I feel that the Christmas spirit is around. At my home everything is set for Christmas, everything is in place at least for the kids. I've observed that people are spending but spending conservatively and just doing enough to keep their kids happy. The reason for this, I feel, is because with massive retrenchment just around the corner, people are saving and holding on to their money. I don't want this [the massive retrenchment] to happen because if it does, it won't be nice, there will be no investments, there will be unemployment and a lot of thieves will be on the road.' Patricia Edwards, vendor: `Last year even though there were disturbances, things were much better than this year Christmas. Last year people were coming out to shop but this year it is not happening, business is not very good. Business is however going better than a few weeks ago at least for now but I still haven't gotten the christmas spirit yet. Right now I am surviving by the Grace of God and I want people to realise that without Christ, there is no Christmas.' Yolanda Sumner-Grant, nurse: `I have not gotten the Christmas spirit even though we're moving into a new year. This Christmas is the last one for the century but for some reason it's not exciting. It all comes back to money. A lot of people, public servants don't know if they'll have their jobs next year and without money you can't buy anything and you can't really enjoy yourself at Christmas. At this time, people would usually buy up things for their homes like furniture but this year they're not doing that because of the uncertainty over jobs. As for the weather, right now rain is falling excessively, I don't know if it's a sign of what will happen in the new year.' Victor Chase, vendor: `To be frank, what I have to say might be a bit difficult for people to understand but this time last year I was a sinner and now I am a man of God. Because of that my business is doing reasonably well and the only thing that is slowing it down is the weather. I am not really finding customers complaining about not having money and the way my thinking works is 'What you reveal is what you receive'. For that reason, if I were to say that business was bad it would be bad, so I will say that business is good and that this is a good Christmas.' Patricia Jessimy, businesswoman: `For some reason, Christmas is not as bright this year. I don't know if it's because of the rain, but rain or shine, we must celebrate and enjoy the lots of gifts, toys and foodstuff that come with Christmas. I think everybody is having a good Christmas and, as for me, my Christmas shopping is done. However, you never know if you will see something else that you want to pick up.' Errol Hall, technician: `Speaking as someone who just got into the country, I must say that from what I've seen the Christmas spirit is here. There is a lot more congestion, there are lots of vendors and people around and it's even hard to move around because of the number of people on the streets, it's even hard to get into the stores. I was last in Guyana five years ago and I am surprised at the amount of things I am seeing on the market, things that you wouldn't have seen five years ago. It's hard for me to talk about the prices since I'm not too sure about the exchange rate and valuation but I will say that Christmas is about buying things. If you want something, you save up and buy it, that's how it works - you go all out at this time of the year. I see people and a lot of them seem to be enjoying themselves. Christmas is a great tradition, I don't know how anyone who has experienced Christmas can live without it, it becomes a part of you.' Raywattie Tatkan, housewife: `I don't really concern myself with holidays but if I had to pick a favourite one, it would be Christmas. This year, however, I haven't really got the Christmas spirit because of a recent tragedy in my family. Besides that, I have not done a lot of Christmas shopping because money just isn't there to shop with. I am a housewife with a husband who works and he says that his customers are not placing orders with him because they are saying that they don't have money. On top of that, all the things I have priced seem to have gone up from a year ago. You're just not getting the same value for your money.' Ahwad Kishore, vendor: `This year doesn't have a Christmas at all. The road dead, dead. The reason is that people just don't have the money and only the big businesses getting money this year. Another thing is that now, with markets all over the country, people don't have to come to town to shop and that is hurting business. Right now almost nothing is selling- the only exception is Christmas cards but other items are selling slow, slow. When people do buy, they are comparing your prices with other people and they even beat down your prices which never used to happen before. As for this rain, it is hampering what little business I am doing.' Sydney Edwards, mining engineer: `I have not done a lot of shopping because of classes at the University of Guyana. However, from what I've seen things seem to be a little better, a little more people seem to be on the road compared to last year. Last year, nothing much was going on. Another thing I've noticed is that prices don't seem to have escalated. To give an example, this year I bought walnuts for the same price as what I paid last year which is a good sign. I think the reason for that is that the business people have learned that they can't do without the small man, that they need his dollar to make a dollar. For that reason, they are trying to encourage him to buy by keeping prices reasonable. Again, last year nothing was right but with this Christmas I think it's showing us that we are on the right track and that we are slowly getting back to where we should be.' Charles Baretto, salesman: `I have the Christmas spirit all the time but I think the only sad thing is that people don't seem to realise that you have to embrace the spirit of giving and caring all year around. It's not just at Christmas we should be doing this but for the other 11 months, that's how Christ wants us to be. The type of person I am, I have already completed my shopping since I realise that you have to think about January which is a 'dead' month when people spend out all their money and are left with 'white mouth'. But what I have noticed is that things are cheaper this year than at other times. What must be happening is that the businessmen realise that money isn't around so prices have to come down if they are going to get any sales without low prices. The rain is not bothering me because I think it's a normal thing at Christmas, it's all part of the experience of Christmas in Guyana.'
|