Narratives of hate and who are evil

Sep 07, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

The Anthony’s residence in my childhood neighbourhood was located in a long narrow street across the road from where I lived in Half Mile, in the town of Linden. The Martins lived at the head of that street and all the way to the end were residences of popular people I will never forget. The popular Linden tailor, Jamesy, who is doing well in the US plying the same trade, lived at the end of that street. Nalda and her sister, Verone who were members of Rabbi Washington’s House of Israel lived at the end of that street too.

I was a very young child in the late 70s and early 80s but I remember things from those periods more vividly than a lot of things in my teenage years and adult life. We played in the Martin’s, Papi’s and Anthony’s yards. There were two houses in the Anthony’s yard; the main big house closer to the street and a very small house closer to the main road which I think is called Winifred Gaskin highway.

The smaller house also served as a shop. My father sent me there to collect a newspaper. It was the first time I opened a newspaper and tried to view its contents. I saw a photo of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham and one of Hamilton Green. I never forgot the images or the names and as I grew up, the hate that were attached to those leaders led me to objectively research those two men/leaders.

I did not have to go deep into in my research to come to the realisation that I was wasting my time. I realised that the hate and negativity came from the PPP and was passed off as accounts of their partisan political narratives. What was simplistic and dangerous about the PPP’s narrative was that it really didn’t have to do much with politics. It was the rawest and nastiest form of racism and race hate that was meant to psychologically condition African Guyanese to believe that Black leaders were “no goods”, evil people and were not ever worthy to govern the nation. That realisation caused me to cry.

As a child, I used the Anthony’s yard as a shortcut on my way to school. Obliquely opposite was the residence of Mrs. Duggan. The windows of that big house faced the main road. Mrs. Duggan opened her windows every morning and there was a huge framed black and white photo of Burnham on the wall. I would usually stop and stare at it.

One morning as I was looking at the photo, a rough looking Black man was accompanying a very neatly and formally dressed woman. She was a schoolteacher. I gathered that he was probably “hustling her” and they weren’t a couple. The man looked at me and said, “He is a wicked man”. The teacher had an incredulous look on her face when she told him not to “follow” her any farther. She looked at me and said. “He is the best thing that we have. Never you forget that. No matter what you hear. Never forget that!” She walked away and the man walked in the other direction.

I knew exactly where I was when the death of Burnham was announced on the radio. I was on my street standing outside Mr. Ellis’s yard looking at his string band visible from his opened door. I was barefooted and shirtless. The death announcement was accompanied by rejoicing shouts coming from homes in the neighbourhood. People ran out of their homes on to the street and started to celebrate. I cried. The PPP narrative had penetrated the hearts of Black people. I live to see what the PPP has done and is doing to Black people in Guyana. Our generations can pay a terrible price for our ignorance.

Today, I feel a sense of duty when I tell African Guyanese about these factual accounts. And that’s why I keep Burnham’s name alive and why I am happy the PNC will be having General Council and Congress before year end. I will tell you why in a Facebook live today.

Sincerely yours,

Norman Browne

Social and Political Activist

Jamesy, Nalda, Norman Browne, Social and Political Activist, tailor

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