Is Bharrat Jagdeo pandering to racist sentiments?

Apr 14, 2013 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Speaking at the funeral service (appallingly held at the Convention Centre, making it two weddings, one birthday, a government-sponsored Pagwah celebration, now funeral service) of Reepu Daman Persaud (my assessment of Persaud is  forthcoming), former President Jagdeo made some unnerving statements. Sadly, for the younger generation, the opposition and our academics will just ignore it, and that generation will miss a chance to understand why this country is in such a mess.
Mr. Jagdeo made subtle references to the libel case he brought against me. The matter is sub judice so I will not insult the court by discussing the merit of the evidence as Mr. Jagdeo did at the funeral service. Mr. Jagdeo went on to paint a picture of the traditional victimization of East Indians in Guyana going back to colonial days. Not only was Mr. Jagdeo pandering to the East Indians who were in the majority in the audience but he displayed extreme mediocrity in understanding Guyanese history.
The book that is generally regarded as the best on this country was written by a white American scholar with no attachment to Guyana. In “Sugar Without Slaves,” Alan Adamson documented the policy of the colonial officials of discriminating against the feed African slaves. It is from reading this book one gets the knowledge of how East Indians came to have extensive land holdings. This book makes for emotional reading. I doubt Mr. Jagdeo ever touched a page from this excellent and phenomenal publication.
Secondly, Mr. Jagdeo made the observation that East Indians are being criticized for their inclusion in the public service and belaboured the point that all Guyanese are entitled to equal opportunity. But my 75 page research into Mr. Jagdeo’s presidency (titled, “Ethnic Power and Ideological Racism: Comparing presidencies in Guyana.”) revealed wide spread discrimination against African Guyanese. This research was not based on hearsay but documented the evidence of bias against African Guyanese. Briefly, one piece of proof.
When a researcher was inquiring (as a consultancy from the ERC) if there was an ethnic preponderance in the distribution of government scholarships, President Jagdeo’s office and the Ministry of the Public Service refused to release data to her. Obviously, they had something to hide.
If as Guyanese citizens we are entitled to equal opportunity then can Jagdeo explain why under his presidency his office awarded 99 percent of contracts to people of East Indian ethnicity.
The brother of Walter Rodney, Donald, who was almost killed in the car when Walter was murdered, told me that under the PPP Government he was not getting contracts and thus was forced to migrate.
I was at the Plaisance Community Centre ground when the Government removed the pillars for the e-governance tower. The contract was awarded to a Columbian engineering firm. This firm quietly pocketed the money and subcontracted the removal of the pillars to a small African Guyanese company up the East Coast.
I saw for myself the completion of this work done entirely by a Guyanese entity that should have got the contract in the first place. I ask if the African ownership of the Guyanese firm had anything to do with the award?
Thirdly, I never credited Mr. Jagdeo, while he was President with any intellectual talent. I once compared him in a column to two other ordinary CARICOM Heads, Bernard St. John of Barbados after the death of Tom Adams and George Chambers after the demise of Eric Williams. Both St. John and Chambers were too ordinary without any deep ideas.
For me, Mr, Jagdeo’s mediocrities exceeded the limitations of certainly Chambers (St. John was a better leader by far than Jagdeo). I hold the opinion that intellectually he was the poorest of CARICOM Heads to date. I make this point after what he blurted out at the funeral service and that there is resurgence of anti-East Indian resentment in Guyana.
I always believe that Mr. Jagdeo was unfit to be president and here is the evidence.
If there is a resurgence of ant-East Indian sentiments it simply means that in the past African Guyanese didn’t like Indians and if the syndrome is returning then he is pointing to African Guyanese again. If Mr. Jagdeo is right that hate is once again emerging against Indians then any fool can tell you that he is refereeing to African people in Guyana.
The fact that Mr. Jagdeo mentioned nothing at all about people in Guyana resenting Africans then he means only Africans practice race bias and not the other communities. African Guyanese should now ask Mr. Jagdeo if in the past there have been and in the present, there are anti-African sentiments?
This question must be demanded of Mr. Jagdeo especially in the context that he is generally regarded as the person who controls the levers of power. I end with a sincere hope that the Guyanese society will not let Mr. Jagdeo get away with this pandering to racist instincts.
Frederick Kissoon

 

 

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