Ed Cowan on race in Australia

Feb 05, 2021 Editorial

Kaieteur News – We could and should take a page out of the wide-open and unflattering book of former Australian cricket opener, Ed Cowan. He did not pull on any punches in a frank, if not harsh, admission of the way things are with race in Australia. He did not dodge, he did not pretend, he did not hide his head in the Outback in a vain wait for the issue to fade away, only to bounce back again more injuriously and embarrassingly on the next occasion. As Guyanese, we could learn a thing or two from Mr. Cowan, about the brutal honesty needed to face our own unaddressed racial problems.
We have been pretending and hiding, behind what is flimsy and riddled with so many holes that even a blind person could see that we have a serious problem on our hands, where almost every issue, every development, every conclusion takes on a sharp racial tinge. In fact, it is more than a tinge, for what we have is a broad and deep strain that poisons our interactions and our outlook on life in Guyana. When our eyes see only colour, and enough of it to make our minds rush to those places that only darken existence in this country, then we succeed again and again, in dragging all of us down.
But this is what the former Australian cricket, Ed Cowan, was brave enough not to do, when he called things in cricket, sports in general, and Australian society at large for the way they really are. From an online entity named SportCafe, there was this article titled, “Australia is a racist nation, where racism is a massive issue, believes Ed Cowan” that was a no-holds barred commentary on the way things are in that country. This came on the heels of the racial abuse meted out to Indian cricket players on Day 3 during the Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and as reported by Mohamed Siraj. It was what a subsequent investigation by Cricket Australia confirmed, even as it cleared of wrongdoing, six spectators, who were thought to be involved.
For his part, Ed Cowan was blunt and unyielding: “We have an issue with Australia full stop; we are a very racist nation.” Not satisfied with that, he continued with more of the scorching, “We can hold up the mirror and pretend we are not.” And, “…all you need to do is walk down the street. Casual or otherwise, racism is a massive issue in Australia, and we need to fix it.” And, “it is a reflection of the society we live in, and it is not good enough.”
That is refreshingly candid, as discomforting, as it must be to many in society Down Under. This is what we here in Guyana need to make a start in admitting that we have a raging demon in the midst, and make a start at seriously wanting to do something about it. Such as that, it is not acceptable, that it will not be welcomed nor tolerated. And, that it will not be given the space to operate and flourish, which is what has occurred here all along.
It happens when we play these shallow defensive games, where a great many Guyanese from both sides of the wide divide bury their heads in the sand, and pretend that we don’t have a racial problem; or that what we have does not arise to the degree of seriousness that is associated with what is thought by some to be a national problem. When we engage in either of those self-serving and self-protective denials, all that we succeed in doing is covering over the problem, and giving it time and energy to fester into a still bigger monstrosity.
This is precisely where we are as a society in the aftermath of our brutally bruising elections of last year. The rifts have never been so wide, so ugly, and so oozing with the pus of ethnic hatreds. There are all these beliefs harboured deeply by both sides, from learned, sensible, and spiritual people that they have been cheated and victimized; or that they were intended to be robbed again of the victory due them by elections skullduggeries. Those passions simmer and take wing, as is obvious from the deep chill that characterizes the relationship between the two major ethnicities of Guyana.
Instead of digging deep for the strength to confront and conquer, there is satisfaction with leaving things alone, and merely getting by as we have always done, with our racial baggage unopened and untouched. We are too frightened as to where the underlying truths could lead. So, we content ourselves with maintaining the imbalanced and unworkable racial status quo that pleases approximately one half and disgust the other segment. It is recipe for tragedy.

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Ed Cowan on race in Australia

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