Dear Editor,
Ms Niacelis Williams’s mention of ”Guyana’s menfolk’ and their unacceptable behaviour towards women’ together with ‘we in the Caribbean bear the legacy of being commodified, negated, dehumanized by the colonizer, but we carry scars that go much deeper: the scars of self-contempt’ needs to be clearly looked at before one can truly understand which menfolk/women she is actually talking about. It seems to me that the menfolk she is referring to are the afro-Guyanese men. And the women in question are afro-Guyanese women. Please correct me if I’ve misunderstood this Ms. Williams.
If it is as I understand it, then I’d think that the social problem in question is very likely to be race oriented. Obviously there clearly is need for further investigation on this matter – a topic perhaps quite suitable for the social sciences students of UG. From personal observations and friends’ account of their experiences, the majority of men engaging in obscene and verbal misconduct in public (GT area) seem to be afro-Guyanese. It would be great if someone could prove this wrong.
Now then, let me come to the part about the legacy that the colonizers left us with. However, before I say anything let me just say that I am not a racist even though what I have to say about the colonizers might be interpreted as such. My extended family is made up of Amerindians, Indo-Guyanese, Afro-Guyanese, Europeans and the many mixed races of Guyana.
Yes it was tragic what took place during the slavery years and yes it left many scarred for life. No one can ever apologize enough for what happened. However, isn’t it time we let go of our tragic past for the sake of personal progress? The working class English did after the industrial revolution.
I strongly believe that those who hold on to the past and blame the past for their misfortune (eg. Slavery turned us into the way we are now – full of self-contempt) are those too lazy to look for positive ways to better themselves. How many of our fellow Guyanese today associate themselves with slavery on a day to day basis? I certainly don’t. My relatives and friends and people I live with in the same community certainly do not. The majority of adults I know are well rounded people even though they have all gone through some sort of personal difficulties.
The Amerindians who were commodified, negated and dehumanized in the name of progress during the assimilation years by our own fellow Guyanese leaders are not seen at present moping around feeling sorry for themselves or blame their misfortune on the past – we do not see them engaging in obscene and verbal misconduct in public.
No. It is not just self-contempt that needs to be taken into account here. It is more than that. I would like to think that it all begins within the family unit who although they try hard to make their family a happy one, the day to day burden of providing financial security render them helpless and unable to keep up with the bare minimum that is available to them.
It is also to do with education – perhaps a review of the present curriculum and method of teaching need to be taken into account here; how can anyone learn to stand up for themselves if they have always been indirectly and directly made to feel worthless when teachers and taught curriculum, rather than students are the centre of attention? For those who manage to get good grades in CXC, and may I add that the majority are likely not to make it to university, what chance is there for them to get a good job with a good pay when there is hardly any to be had?
It is also to do with the current security in our own hometowns. There are drugs, gangs, child molesters, wife/partner beaters, rapes, thieves, corruption and much more that takes place too often that it seems our law enforcement personnel aren’t capable of keeping up with. Corruption is bliss when it works to one’s advantage. Has anyone addressed the issues of corruption and mismanagement of public and international aid money which results in communities not receiving the benefits expected from government and international aid donors?
These are only a smidgen of the many social problems we must face each day (beginning with the family unit first then spreading out into the society due to economic and social insecurities) but they are problems that go in a circle over and over again that leave otherwise decent people depressed, demoralized and pessimistic about the future.
So the question still remains: what measures can be taken to restore self-respect and respect for others in our society?
Yours faithfully,
Joyce Simon
