This is what an “objective, honest” take on race relations looks like

May 10, 2021 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News – APNU/WPA politician, Tacuma Ogunseye, published a letter on race relations in the Stabroek News of Friday, May 7, titled, “Guyanese are not ready for objective and civil discourse on our race reality in this country.” Readers should note two things as they continue to read this article. One is what this gentleman means by “objective” and secondly, is he ready for such a discourse?
Here are his words, “MP Amanza Walton-Desir and her comrades have demonstrated the will to fight, and in so doing earned my solidarity and encouragement. MP Walton and her comrades have been initiated in the politics of racial blackmail…the simple fact is that her detractors can’t prove their case and they know this is not about truth, but are instead inciting race hate in the society…Roshan Khan enters the fray with his poisonous racist propaganda. I will conclude by contending that Guyanese are not ready for objective and civil discourse on our race reality in the country.”
What is the analysis to put to this deadly, dangerous and destructive outlook? A Black woman pens a most sordid and condescending racially volcanic statement. An Indian man denounces her for that output. Up comes Mr. Ogunseye, defends the Black woman and labels the Indian man’s response as “racist propaganda.” And this gentleman is telling Guyanese that they are not ready to honestly discuss race problems.
Here now comes another APNU politician on the same subject. He is a PNC parliamentarian, Jermaine Figueira, AKA Denzil. Just before we show how identical is his thinking to Ogunseye’s, let’s explain why he is also known as Denzil. During the five-month election rigging saga he published a letter on me describing my appearance as unkempt, with undertones that he looks like Denzel Washington.
Figueira is always in his three-piece suit with hair immaculately combed. I, on the other hand, do not wear suits and designer clothes and never, I repeat never, formerly combed my hair. My hirsute canopy looks identical with the British Prime Minister. With that appearance, he still made it as the UK’s prime minister. I doubt Denzel will ever make it beyond representing Linden as a 10th rate parliamentarian.
Figueira published a letter in the Stabroek News the day before the macabre intonation of Ogunseye. It is headlined, “We have never addressed the race relations issues that have kept us back as a people and a nation.” As you read the words of Figueira bear in mind two things: one is the question in his letter, is he really discussing the race issue, and secondly, isn’t his take on the subject another effort in keeping Guyana back?
Here is Jermaine Figueira, AKA Denzel, “I thank my sister, a fellow Lindener, Ms. Amanza Walton-Desir for her courage, for her boldness and bravery in sparking the conversation about race relations in this country that we must have. Men like Gerry Gouveia have no interest in healing the racial and ethnic divide in this country.”
Just to remind readers. Walton-Desir sprouted dangerous rhetoric and she is defended by Ogunseye who labels an Indian man who criticises her as racist.
Walton-Desir composed a racial denunciation of Indians and a Portuguese/Amerindian man, who rejects her nonsense, is accused of increasing the racial divide by Figueira.
What is dangerous, deadly and destructive about these two men? Here is why decent, conscientious Guyanese have to extirpate this cancerous sore from the sociological fulcrums on which Guyana stands. Here is what they are saying. Black Guyanese are not racially motivated when they speak on ethnic variables. They do not have racist interests but speak the truth. Indians are the people that are racially endowed and you see this when they criticise Black Guyanese for describing how racially instinctive Indian Guyanese are.
Now please bear in mind, all that Ogunseye and Figueira wrote is representative of a school of politicians and African rights activists in this country. Don’t ever think the quoted words above are isolated sentiments of these two men. The best example of this is how this school sees this columnist who denounced election rigging last year.
In rejecting election rigging, I wasn’t defending the right to have your vote counted but an Indian political party named the PPP because I am Indian. African Guyanese who supported the tampering with citizens’ vote so the PNC can rule forever were not racially driven but were speaking the truth. This depravity is best represented by Sydney King, AKA Kwayana, who wrote that he will not comment on the election because the losers have complaints. Simply put – he thinks there is merit in the losers’ cries.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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