Dear Editor,
I refer to the letter by Colin Bascom of the Executive Committee of The Campaign for Justice in Guyana (JIG UK) captioned “Our relations with India should not be at the expense of our core values as a nation” (07.01.17).
First, I want to say that Mr. Bascom’s letter started out very objectively but quickly went into a barrage of verbal attacks on the Governments and peoples of Guyana and India. It goes to show how deep is the feeling of issues such as marginalization, racial alignment and the slew of other ‘issues’ which Mr. Bascom alluded to.
To this day, nationally and internationally, no one has substantiated that there is racial marginalization and deprivation of social, cultural, educational and economic opportunities in Guyana. It is only rhetoric from the African community in Guyana and abroad (Africans of Guyanese origin). Educational, social, cultural, economic and other opportunities are cost-free and available to all Guyanese. They are not hand-delivered but are there available to anyone who is capable and willing.
Mr. Bascom, while mentioning all the very well highlighted (in his letter) social and cultural ills of India, has failed to point out genocide, economic stagnation, corruption and a long list of ills that plague the Mother Continent of Africa. The question is for those who harp on the impact of values and marginalization, etc; Which African country is in a position to extend or which one has extended a hand to Guyana? It is virtually impossible to please some people. Many of us are better off out of Guyana than in Guyana. Fate probably placed us where we are because if we are not within and we criticize so harshly, then we would probably be rebelling if we were within. Our Western exposure can sure teach us the Capitalist ideologies and how we can look at life from a broader perspective. Mr. Bascom and others continue to look down that narrow tunnel of self-perceived deprivation.
The Government and people of India are gracious to be one of the few nations who have stood by our side from time eternal. There is no motive nor can anyone stand good ground and utter that the Government and people of India have ever attempted to impose their culture and norms on Guyanese.
While his Excellency the President was a recipient of a Government scholarship to study abroad, he has been dignified enough to come back home and continue to serve his country in more bad times than good. How many of us similarly situated have chosen to do so or to even return to serve our contracts? President Burnham was surely a man ahead of his era and so was President Jagan and their policies largely strove for the elevation of Guyana. But
