Dear Editor,
In extending congratulations to the patriotic Guyanese living the “Diaspora syndrome”, referred to in the letter by Dave Martins captioned “I’m lucky I was born Guyanese” (07.02.07) I would like to add my similar sentiments.
Repeatedly in my circles, in the fight against racism, I hear the concerted applause from people of different cultures congratulating Guyanese for their openness towards all faiths.
Well I would retort that we didn’t get lectures on living in harmony: we had to and so we did.
I was attending a session on the Palestinian problem when a couple came up to me and added their compliments. They have lived away from Guyana for half of a century and yet are overwhelmingly young in their love for the land of many races and vivid in their remembrance of respect for Guyanese diversity. Vic and Mel actually wanted to single out the fact that a Guyanese Muslim would be more predisposed to inclusiveness than people coming from a more monolithic Eastern culture.
For whether its the salt in the crabs or the colour in the sweet water, the single most defining education and the coveted discipline Guyana has imprinted upon her successful sons and daughters, is to be contented with little and make the most out of nothing.
A smile always marks her proud face; her colourful flag upholds a remarkable height of achievement wherever her children set shore.
Let not this value be lost to our newer generations and let not the struggles of daily living overburden us to forget with love of God at our helm and Faith-in-our-values at the root, no one, just not anyone, can ever relieve us of this model position, i.e. to lead by a living example what it means to be multi-cultural, multi- religious and multi-racial. Anything otherwise is sheer manipulation.
As Malcolm X, rahmatullahi alihi, rightly said: “I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their colour.”
Yours faithfully,
Habeeb
