The imbalance in the ethnic balance advocacy

Feb 17, 2013 Letters

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Dear Editor,
It is not only the PPP leaders that appear comical to the people of Guyana but also their supporters of which two are particularly asininely funny, Vassan Ramracha and Devanand Bhagwan. Let us quote what Ramracha, a Trinidadian who migrated to the USA.
Here is what he wrote in response to me (KN, Dec 21, 2012), “I had to work two jobs in factories in the good old USA in cockroach-rat infested slums.” Only a fool would migrate from his land to do so and become a tenth class citizen in another person’s country. I never worked in cock-roach-rat infested slums in another country because I loved my land of birth and refused to leave it to become a tenth class citizen in another man’s territory.
I loved Guyana so leaving it was never an option. I wonder what VS Naipaul would say of Ramracha when he heard of what he did to Trinidad. Why would any Trini leave the oil rich island to live in rodent infested, diseased conditions in another country?
Here are more stupidities from Ramracha. In the same edition of KN, he wrote, “I am predisposed to hearing and facilitating all sides because of my religion…”.  Here is an unashamed advocate of Indian hegemony in Guyana telling readers he listens to both sides and he has a religion.
Bhagwan, another Indian supremacist, says he doesn’t know why the Salem Church facilitated an atheist like me, meaning that he, Bhagwan believes in God. When I was small, and I heard people talk about God and religion and they were obnoxious humans , I use to ask myself if there is a God how he can make such people.
Let me be chauvinistic and say I honestly believe God would be kinder to me than Ramracha and Bhagwan because God knows that I do not preach ethnic hegemony in Guyana and that I believe in ethnic balance in all things in Guyana including, the public service, the police force, business places, investments, financial houses, property ownership, land ownership, awards of contracts, commerce and the retail trade etc.
Before I leave this part of my response, I will ask Ramracha and Bhagwan, if they believe in God and have a religion. If the answer is yes, I would like to know if when they are praying they are not afraid that as soon as they open their mouths, God would strike them down.
There is a staff member at Kaieteur News who is a friend of mine, Osafo King. Osafo’s father explained something about religion to me one day when I told him I couldn’t understand how bad people could go to church and say they believe in God. I always remember his reply. He intoned, “Freddie, such people are overtaken by Satan, Satan encourages them to be like that so that God will get a bad name.”
The words of Senior King apply so poignantly to Ramracha and Bhagwan. And this I can say for the officials of the Salem Church in Lodge. When they read my take on ethnic balance in Guyana and Bhagwan’s, I believe I will be more welcomed in that church than Bhagwan, the “God-fearing” Guyanese who lives in India
Now a brief reply to Bhagwan’s letter, “Freddie ‘s sensationalist column was typically partial and unbalanced.” I am glad in his missive Bhgwan gave me and others an opening to deal with the question of who worked harder historically and who works hard in Guyana.
“Bhgwan wrote that Indians worked hard for what the wealth they got. This is how he put it; “While some are sleep from their late night dance, Indians get up early in the morning and start to wuk haad to feed themselves and their families. This is not only elephant dung, mythological filth and putrid nonsense but it is misleading nonsense
People like Bhagwan are in love with himself. Indians dance, drink rum and club late at night like all other ethnic groups. They rob people like every other ethnic group. They push narcotics like any other ethnic group. They beat their wives like all other ethnic groups.
They take bribes and try to corrupt foreign embassy officials like every other ethnic group. Other ethnic groups wuk haad and have been working hard in this country just like the East Indians. While others stay at home and sleep in their hammocks after they come home from work, African soldiers are guarding the borders of this territory from sun rise to sundown and into the uncivilized hours.
While others sleep in their hammocks after coming home and eating their dinner, African policemen are risking their lives fighting crime.
While other buy their fancy cars, African civil servants with minimum wage have to do the boring paper wuk so these rich car owners can have their documents in order
I could go on but I think I have made my point. This thing about who wuk harder than whom is a myth perpetuated in this country by people like Bhagwan.
But some ethnic groups tend to be more corrupt than others. I will not discuss which ethnic groups in this country ran the Canadian consular section out of Guyana and who caused the US Embassy to reject the submission of documents except the visa application itself.
I close with the demand that we need ethnic balance in the economic and financial structures of this country. The Guyanese people should demand nothing less
Frederick Kissoon 

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