The first known casualty in the Wismar violence

Jun 20, 2021 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

There has been a number of recent letters referring to the Wismar incident of May 25/26, 1964 but allow me to comment on the letter of June 19, 2021 titled: “Continued hurling of poisons hurt and not help” in which the writer, Eric Moseley, accused Ms. Ryhaan Shah of “inconsistencies” and stated that “yet she puts pen to paper and accuses the PNC of a number of absurdities”.
I was born in Mackenzie and my mother’s parents and some of her siblings and their families belonged to that early group of Indians, who once lived at Wismar and survived the ‘Wismar ethnic cleansing”, except for one who was the first murdered on May 25 early in the morning. His name was Richard (Mohammad) Khan, 18 years old, lived in the village called “Valley of Tears” in Wismar. He was a columnist with the local PYO (youth support group of the PPP) newspaper – The Thunder, and known for the distribution of the newspaper in Wismar. He was beaten to death outside of his house but in his yard. My maternal grandmother, who survived the violence, told me that young African women would come to her and begged her to leave Wismar immediately, that there will be “trouble coming soon”. My relatives were transported by the RH Carr Steamer to Georgetown. I also enclose pictures of my assassinated cousin as evidence. It must be noted that the violence against Indians was not only in Wismar; but Indians in Mackenzie and Christianburg were also brutalised. Indeed, the widow of a man – Mr. Nauth, told me that her husband was murdered that day in Mackenzie.
From personal experience, I believe that more Indians died from the trauma of the violence experienced/witnessed than the actual number of Indians murdered that day, a number which is still unknown. I have much more details of the terror against Indians on those two days, but enough said, except to say that I am not aware of the PPP helping the terrorised Indians, but I know that Indians across Guyana stepped up and gave them shelter and assistance. The recovery was long and painful for my relatives – they do not talk about it.
Mr. Moseley should ask himself, why would a known PYO member be the first to be assassinated, if the PNC was not involved? And Mr. Moseley needs to know that my uncle, Kadim Bacchus’, a known PPP organiser in Wismar, house was burnt to the ground, and he was beaten, and some were beaten and tied up and left on the bank of the Demerara River to be drowned (saved by a Christian Missionary plying the river in a boat collecting beaten Indians). My hope is that all Guyanese would learn from those sad historical facts and strive to make Guyana a better place.

Thank you.

Fizul Rahim

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The first known casualty in the Wismar violence

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