Dear Editor,
I have read with interest the letter of my friend Barrington Braitwaithe captioned ” By its works the Alliance will be judged” (07.12.05).
I would like to submit to the African philosopher, a Mr Modibo and Barry that although it is noble to advocate for the empowerment of ethnic groups and cultures, it is inimical to nation building and defeatist to disaggregate the interests of the Afro Guyanese from the main stream approach to good governance. It is posited, that this approach will only perpetuate the ethnic imbalance and cement the marginalization complained of.
I submit that all those who are genuinely interested in the Guyanese of African descent will do far better at working with them to ensure their real empowerment starting with education, including morality, cultural heritage and values, and knowledge transfer, encouraging the propagation of strong family units and communities, and the promotion of entrepreneurship. This is what is required if our Afro Guyanese brothers and sisters are to achieve de jure equality in the Guyanese society. This thrust I submit is where the aggression should be directed, instead of a preoccupation with the individual philosophies of Afro Guyanese leaders of the AFC.
A myopic approach only serves to perpetuate the ethnic mire that many Guyanese seem to be trapped in, resulting in our spiral into failed statehood. All Afro Guyanese leaders of the PNC and PPP should first be called into account lest it be perceived that these writings are attempts of Black on Black victimization and intellectual bullying of the ‘Afro Guyanese leaders” of the AFC as part of a wider propaganda agenda.
It should be reiterated that the AFC’s formation is premised on the understanding of its leaders and members that no one of Guyana’s six racial groups has a paramount right to enjoy the wealth of the motherland at the expense of the other. Indeed it is the duty of the Government to ensure equal opportunity for all peoples of Guyana as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Guyana. It is in this context, that the party supported by conscious Black, and all other brothers and sisters realized that unless all move forward, all of us will be left behind.
I urge the Afro-centric thinkers to reframe their philosophical approaches to the context of demanding affirmative action for the Afro Guyanese who are marginalized as well as the thousands of Amerindian and East Indian brothers and sisters especially in the rural areas of Guyana. Write these letters to the persons who have responsibility for the marginalisation and allow the marginalisation to take root, not those preaching against it.
The AFC’s achievement as a brand new third party intervening in an ethnically divided political landscape cannot be trivialized away by mere strokes of pens. Indeed by its works the party will be known. However, do know that members continue to mobilize and work unassisted by this mythical “international group” , committed to the long march ahead, fixed to the goal of realizing real change in a multiracial society, instead of taking quick fix approaches and spewing empty rhetoric offering false hope to any of the members of the racial groups supporting the party. With dedication, the party will get it right, but not by dancing to the drums of the African philosopher Modibo. Instead, its response is continued capacity building, realizing the true objectives of the party, and deepening its activism and outreach, albeit knowing how difficult a task it is, given the divisive approach of the thinkers of our time.
Yours faithfully,
Andaiye Moore
