During elections campaign the issue of race is underhandedly used

Aug 09, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Race relations and racism is never an issue in everyday life in Guyana. At the end of the day, we are all Guyanese. We live side by side, we work together, we eat together, we laugh and ‘lime’ without even a second thought as to the person’s ethnicity.
During the elections campaign, the issue of race is underhandedly used. This is primarily due to the fact that one of the major parties was born with the majority of its support base being East Indian, not necessarily because of racist views, but rather out of an honest struggle for a better life. The other party, on the other hand, was born from the majority of its support base being Afro-Guyanese, still not because of racism, but rather uniting for a particular cause at a time when it was needed most.
Since then, for generations, the idea has been passed down that supporting the political party of one’s ‘ancestors’ is the only chance to attain a better way of life.
Unfortunately, it has so happened that the race issue became involved, and it has become almost the primary influence when it comes to voting, especially with the older generation.
The political leaders are very familiar with this ideology, and subtly use this as a card in their favour. Because of the long-standing presence of just a few political parties in Guyana it is rather easy to polarize the voting population.
However, recently, we have seen several attempts to widen the political arena with the birth of a couple of new political parties, and hopefully, this will significantly increase our chances of getting out of this divisiveness, and into a situation that calls for us to begin to think for ourselves and learn to choose from more than two options.
Basically, racial tension from time to time happens in Guyana, but nothing nearly as intense as in the U.S. and the UK. Racism is not a major problem in Guyana. It is just that around election time that we observe some racial tensions, but even then it is not a party affair, no killings take place and I thank God for that. The 2006 election was violence-free.
Look at what is going on in Sri Lanka. They are killing out their own people for land. Even in the years gone by Rwanda comes to mind, where they massacred their own people because of tribal hatred. The U.S. jail cells are packed with black and Hispanics because of race and the list goes on.
Thankfully, the younger generation has begun to realise that the texture of one’s hair does not make a difference when it comes to the question of having integrity in office.
Amar  Singh

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Villagers need human touch too

Dear Editor,
I saw a letter from Mr. Roshan Khan, extolling the virtues of Buxtonians in general and I thank him for the encomiums.
Apposite his views are some perceptions which were played out in protest by the resident Buxtonians and I presumed a few from the Diaspora at their perceived, ‘step-child’ treatment and lack of focus on their plight by the current administration. This was on Thursday (5/07/10) night outside State House where a civic reception was held for the Buxton Diaspora.
For good balance, members of the Diaspora and other invitees have every right if they chose, to listen, socialise and dine with the President and his team. Similarly Mr. Lumumba as a member of the President’s inner circle has his right to defend the administration as he sees things from his perspective. So let us be clear that we must respect the rights of each other in a manner that does not suggest disgust but understanding.
When I first heard of the reception I was jolted a bit because I felt that a better, more conciliatory and responsible approach would have been to request and participate actively in a specific agenda item which spoke to several issues of concern to the residents.

In this process we will first clear the misconceptions on both sides, discuss current positions on infrastructure, agriculture, joblessness, crime, social decay, small business development, education for life et.al. At the end the technocrats sent by the administration and the residents would have crafted a communiqué on the confab and chart the way forward for villagers, the Diaspora and state actors to begin work on the restoration of this historic village.
The modalities and work plan for the resurgence would have been left to a good team of Government technocrats, good and concerned citizens, resident and overseas–based Buxtonians. This would have been a better model which I can relate to and would have seen this administration using in the past and made sense.
I believe that a structured approach laced with sincerity and a concomitant injection of compromise would have yielded a scenario where all parties would have been working together for the good of the community and village. With over 100 villages purchased by ex-slaves and the successful self-management of the villages, there is no place for one or any segment of the village movement in any part of Guyana to be allowed to be restless. It seems like we are not learning these important lessons of history.
Being present at the opening of the recent celebrations at both Buxton and Victoria, certain little things were evident. Buxton’s opening ceremony had listed on its programme, participation by a Minister of the Government. He did not show up and in true Buxtonian style they moved on and called on Kwame Apata (a revered son) to do the honours. The Victoria celebrations had two Ministers of the Government participating. Conscious Buxtonians would have seen this as a slight but would have been smart enough to flash a red light warning, that the divide and rule tactic was at hand, with one village been favoured over the other. Are there not lessons of the past that should prevent us from treading these paths again?
You see we have to be very careful in this bipolar country. (Say what you like but prove me wrong). We must be sensitive to each others outlook and responsibility. Failure to take cognizance will leave us in this seeming, perpetual mess.
I am not really a member of the Diaspora in the traditional sense of the word, even though I do not live in Buxton; however, I received an invitation for the reception. I was at the opening of the Victoria conference, mingled a bit when it was over, paid a brief visit to my father’s cousin in that village and spent a few hours at my parents home (something not done often but which always feel good). The reception was later in the evening and I had no intention of traveling late on the road but moreover, I do not feel that I am treated well and respected. For that you can count on me that I will not be a hypocrite and contribute to my disrespect. Again, I have absolutely no quarrel with those who participated and from the protesters viewpoint, do not get them wrong, they did not want the Diaspora not to participate. They just brought their plight to the fore by saying they were maligned unjustly, stigmatised unwarrantably and it would seem made to suffer infinitely. Even today they will tell you that they could not state correctly where they are from because they would be denied jobs. Even to this day people misunderstand the “Buxton people stop train” phenomenon and associate it with arrogance, brutishness and being patently “wrong and strong”. On the converse it showed commitment to purpose, desire for betterment for the village movement which would have impacted all the other villages, selflessness and militancy. These qualities are not valued these days Mr. Khan and you are one of a few who see the value in these qualities.
In conclusion we all must do better if we are to bequeath a bright future to the generations following. Lest it appears that we are trying to appear pious; certainly not. We too have demons that we must exorcise from our beings in order to bring some purity of sorts to the bargaining table. The good thing is recognising it and be prepared to do something to move the process forward. Are we all ready?
Orrin Gordon

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