Dear Editor,
IT is safe to assume that with the bits of information, mis-information, fake news and from an army of soothsayers, that the majority of Guyanese yearn for the truth.
As a boy, we are told that “the truth shall set us free.”
In our present environment, particularly as it relates to the 2020 National & Regional Elections, what is the truth?
The truth about Guyana need to be told, discussed openly, if you are to correct the quirks of our history, which has been a burden long before independence.
Truth is that magnificent intangible but something we should seek after if we are to be the architects of a better and just country and world.
What you identify as the truth is a combination of our belief and the facts as presented to us.
As the debate continues about the Elections and the social condition of Guyana, we must be frank and forthright. As one who has been in the hustings since the 50s, an examination of all elections since 1957 shows a consistent pattern of racial voting throughout the length and breadth of Guyana. This occurrence, if not faced boldly and pragmatically, will leave us living in a fool’s paradise unable to so-call fight the bullet and deal with this question of race openly but calm and honesty. We cannot afford to sweep the question of race under the carpet and merely indulge in tokenism which has been the case of all of our major political parties in Guyana.
One example, the major parties insist in pursing this cosmetic arrangement, which is if your Presidential Candidate or President is Indo Guyanese, the next in-line should be an Afro Guyanese and vice versa.
The PPP introduced this cosmetic arrangement as they identified the two top political figures, that is the President and Prime Minister. In 1992, the PPP Prime Minister candidate was a very pleasant and seemingly harmless personality, but did not and could not represent or speak for Afro-Guyanese, (a cosmetic condition).
If at the end of the debate which I proposed some years ago, that if it is agreed that the two top executive positions should be held by persons representing the two major ethnic groups, then it should be on the basis of their work within the party and country and more importantly, in simple language, their political clout and their ability to speak on behalf of their particular group.
In circumstances where the group, Indo or Afro, accept the person identified as an authentic representative of a particular group and this of course, we find two hard working and worthy douglas to fill the top spot.
Unless the question of ethnic cleavage, ethnic fear and suspicion is dealt with systematically, sincerely and openly, we are unlikely to become one people with a single objective of national development, peace and love.
Let us quickly look at Guyana from a distance. No less a person than the Late Dr. Cheddi Jagan asserted that blacks or Afro-Guyanese are at the bottom of the ladder. Typical of Dr. Jagan; this was a simple statement of the truth by a man who is known for honest straight-forward pronouncements on delicate matters.
I am not a racist but in our charged environment, those who cannot interpret our history and lack the intellectual fortitude will hardly be able to contribute to be part of the dialogue aimed at a peaceful, harmonious Guyana.
For us to speak from a position of knowing who you are you must know from whence we came and being able to access and measure the contribution you made and must make Guyana Good and Glorious, all the while embracing the value of ancestral piety.
Being proud of our ethnicity (pure or mixed) should be a major tool to appreciate the other person and shed light on this world, where we all are God’s children. Additionally, in our neighbourhoods, schools, and playgrounds, we need to help our children to appreciate the religious and cultural practices of the other people and their music. A pre-requisite to improve our race relations is to dig deep into Guyana’s history and to recognize that the remnants of colonialism and imperialism lingers on. A very careful examination about our history will put in an appropriate context, Guyana and its six people.
This examination and teaching of our history from kindergarten to University must be unvarnished so that the 21st century Guyanese would make a link between a previous domination and making of Guyana and to allow our young, eager minds to appreciate that as one Elder put it, “we came in different ships,” but today we are in one boat and must paddle together, if we are not to punish, over the rocks and rapids and fast flowing global tide.
In the beginning, our seven Amerindian tribes lived off the land, sharing the benefits of their work industry and mother nature. Later, some of these brothers were made into head-hunters by the plantocracy.
Remember, our Amerindian brothers were paid substantial sums to capture and bring the runaway slaves back to the plantations ‘dead’ or ‘alive.’
The African slaves under inhuman conditions dug by hand canals and dams, which civilized our entire coastlands. When slavery ended, they were not compensated but their former owners were. When in Georgetown, Africans rose up against the new super-class of Portuguese, the Portuguese were compensated by the colonial administration for the loss of their goods and property.
We need to teach all of our children how the freed Africans combined their resources to purchase old villages only to see estate managers design drainage and irrigation systems, which routinely flooded the agricultural lands of the Manumitted Africans, forcing many of them to seek their fortune in the interior, mining gold and diamonds.
Others entered the professions, Christian denomination and all sectors of the public service.
Further, to explain how the British and the Dutch introduced beliefs and mode of living, alien to the nature of the Africans. This meant that the Trans-Atlantic journey had their African roots completely severed and the early effort to make us black Englishmen and women was unfolded.
So that unto this day, the average Afro-Guyanese carries (and some still proudly) the names of our former slave masters. Names that are not associated with the villages or tribes from which they were plucked. The Portuguese from Madeira did not adapt easily to the harshness of the plantations. In each of these cases, they were helped by the European plantocracy to be merchants and traders.
Likewise, the Chinese soon established a variety of businesses providing services to the local population. The East Indians were able to cope with the harshness of plantation life, which itself had been less cruel as a result of efforts by Englishmen, William Wilberforce and Buxton and by practices of frugality, deferred gratification and good sense made their mark and contributed to every aspect of national life and the well-being of our society.
Without going into details, each of our ethnic groups made a solid contribution to the development of Guyana and this next period, whatever may be the decision of GECOM must see our Leaders accepting that today we are the children of our history and with that knowledge, we must put in place institutions and systems to end this folly of race.
Let us light the flames of peace and love, which characterize the first PPP Government, after the Waddington Constitution 1953, when six young giants sought to make independence and freedom a reality.
The six men: Sidney King (Eusi Kwayana), Ahston Chase, the Late L.F.S Burnham (Chairman), Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Dr. J.P. Latchmansingh, and Jainarine Singh. These men were all workers and were all committed patriots and had been giving selfless service in the trade union, political and community arenas. The Cold War saw the dismissal from office of these early heroes. This in a real sense exposed the might and imperial philosophy of powerful external forces. Today, some of those external forces may still be active and anxious to keep us in place. The antidote is for us to work together, confront external enemies; the enemy lurking in every corner of our society anxious to exploit our differences. At another time, I will refer to some who still feel that the place of the Afro-Guyanese should forever be at the lowest rung of the ladder.
We must confront this not too subtle situation and remind them that those who fought against slavery that their descendants are not willing to be served as servants again.
Regards
Hamilton Green
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_06_19_2020