Jul 04, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

(Kaieteur News) – I have come to the unsettling conclusion that silence has become an endangered species in Guyana. If someone were to discover a quiet neighbourhood today, it would probably qualify for protection under environmental legislation. Tourists should be taken there in small groups and warned not to make sudden noises for fear of frightening the last surviving moments of peace.

Noise pollution is no longer merely an irritation. It has evolved into a lifestyle, an unofficial national development strategy. If a place is quiet for more than five minutes, somebody apparently feels constitutionally obliged to arrive with speakers large enough to communicate with satellites.