Racism and raced-based politics have always belonged in the garbage heap of history

Jul 07, 2011 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
There is an old saying that; “a man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still” and so it is with Mr. Mike Persaud.
In a letter published in Kaieteur News on 5th July 2011 entitled, Does Joey Jagan understand the difference between “Coalition Government” and “Shared Governance”?, Mr. Persaud in his own words states, “I have always said that Dr. Hinds’ cause is not without merit and is based on a genuine grievance, but I have always opposed his idea of shared governance, for the simple reason that his idea is the very antithesis of democracy.”
Setting aside semantics and political nit-picking involved in his letter, Mr. Persaud will never see the merit of a government of national unity, because such an arrangement is not in the interest of the present-day People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
In the ‘70s, while a party in opposition, the PPP offered “critical support” to the government of the day, and spoke of shared governance as a path to national unity and racial reconciliation. In the ‘80s, just prior to President Burnham’s death, PPP leader Dr. Cheddi Jagan and President Burnham (the leaders of their respective political parties) were engaged in substantive talks aimed at forging a government of national unity and reconciliation.
“Burnham contended that a modus vivendi with the PPP would greatly assist in reducing the ethnic distrust and promoting national unity, extricating the country from economic morass … and constructing a new Guyanese society – all of which coincided with the PPP point of view.”
That is excerpted from Mr. Halim Majeed’s “Forbes Burnham: National Reconciliation and National Unity 1984-1985”, published in 2005. These days, however, cynical PPP advocates like Mr. Mike Persaud seem to prefer to embrace triumphalism cloaked as democracy.
I am grateful to have been permitted some latitude to rebut Mr. Persaud’s misguided criticism of myself and other writers, “… another useless campaign strategy is manifested by party writers … they groan literally in every letter about corruption of the ruling party, never about developing a strategy to communicate with the Indian constituency….”
I would like Mr. Persaud to know that he should prefer that, given what is at stake, we all call a spade a spade, and never concede that the Emperor is clothed when he stands naked before us.
Many would say that corruption is rampant in Guyana. This is neither an Indian issue nor a black issue, nor an issue for any specific ethnic group: this is a national disgrace for all Guyanese. If it were true, would Mr. Persaud honestly want us to think that Indo-Guyanese would be happy to believe that members of this administration and their cohorts are embezzling from the national treasury?
Are Indo-Guyanese happy that the Berbice River Bridge toll is too high, and the government keeps playing games with the pontoon service and provides them and their children with a dangerous alternative?
Tell us all, Mr. Persaud, when the government decides to pay millions of hard-earned American dollars to a man to build what may be the most important road to be built in Guyana, knowing full well that he has never built a road in his life, is this just an African concern?
Does it only concern Afro-Guyanese when a koker on the upper East Coast crumbles one month after being built? Isn’t it a problem for all Guyanese when the new wharf at Charity sinks, and the sea defences at Mon Repos that cost millions are breached?
All Guyanese paid hard earned wages for the village roads, the Mandela Avenue Bridge, and several other public works projects built by friends of the regime at high costs to the struggling taxpayer, but which began to disintegrate mere months after completion.
Is it an ethnic issue when millions of dollars are spent to build one latrine? Tell us Mr. Persaud, should we be silent when $500 million is spent on the Supenaam Stelling, and it is deemed “inoperable” and unsafe for use?
Should we all heed your advice and stop “groaning literally in every letter” about corruption when the government “big wigs” and their friends become extraordinarily wealthy inexplicably, while poor workers, regardless of race, still live in dire poverty and are getting poorer every day?
Should we be quiet when several government ministers who, before taking office, had modest homes, but less than five years later own multi-million-dollar mansions, own thousands of acres of land, and have huge bank accounts?
How did they acquire this wealth and are you saying Mr. Persaud that our Indian brothers and sisters are okay with the conduct of such thieves and bandits?
When we write about corruption Mr. Persaud, we are not writing about a phenomenon that only concerns one political constituency.
That you see exposing corruption as a useless strategy speaks volumes about your moral compass.
As for developing a strategy to communicate with the Indian constituency, I say to you Mr. Persaud when I write I address all Guyanese, regardless of race or political affiliation, because corruption and poor governance affects us all.
All Guyanese are saddled with a 33% PAYE and 16% VAT that we struggle to pay, so when our elected officials are corrupt it affects us all. After all it is our hard earned money that is being wasted or stolen.
I believe that as a people we have more in common than what divides us. For almost 60 years we have tried one-party rule. It has left us a fractured under-developed nation, with pseudo-intellectuals and party leaders still using their energies to forge race rather than promote nationalism.
I prefer to expend my energies on the latter. That is why I am unapologetically supportive of leaders like Ms. Amna Ally, Brig. David Granger, Mr. Cammie Ramsaroop, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Dr. Clive Thomas, and anyone working to promote A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). This is the path to long lasting national reconciliation that will move us all forward instead of bogging us down in the past.
Racism and raced-based politics have always belonged in the garbage heap of history; we should all fight to put it there, and keep it that way.
Mark Archer

---

---