On Thursday January 31, I found myself in a business meeting in the United States trying to explain the events of the Lusignan horror. The attendees were from a company which had recently signed a contract with our small business in Guyana. The contract, although small, was for customer support and could potentially grow quite quickly if Guyana lived up to my words of assurance and confidence. Our clients agreed on a plan which required me to travel to the US with one of our new hires from Guyana so that he could complete a training programme on their support systems. The second phase of the plan was for someone from their company to escort our new employee back to Guyana after his initial training in the United States in order to help train our remaining 20 employees in Guyana. Needless to say, our employee has since completed his training in the US and returned to Guyana; the return trip by my client’s employee was cancelled.
So on that Thursday afternoon, sitting in their Atlanta office, I found myself at a rare loss for words; yet trying my best to explain to my client why his son and employee, our trainer, should make the trip to Guyana with no fear. The best I could offer was, “I understand your concerns and the reason for your cancellation. We’ll take full responsibility for ensuring that our employees are properly trained. You should make the trip when you’re more comfortable”.
As my clients looked to me for safety and stability assurances, I realized that I was not prepared to make bold and confident statements regarding Guyana. In fact, being asked to act as an authority on Guyana’s stability was something I was quite unprepared for. Although I am a frequent visitor, with business and personal interests in Guyana, I can honestly say that I do not have a very good understanding of why this situation occurred. I do however know that the discomfort I felt at that moment, being drilled for answers regarding Guyana’s safety for US investors and whether is was ok for my client to send his son to Guyana was nothing compared to the absolute horror those families must have felt on that fatal night. My heart bleeds for the victims and their families, that this tragedy could possibly be construed as an “Indian tragedy” is mind boggling. I know of no African family in Guyana or in the diaspora that doesn’t feel the pain of these families, that doesn’t claim this tragedy as their own, that wouldn’t do whatever they could to ensure that a repeat of this horror could never again happen in Guyana.
I still vividly remember the Sunday morning when I heard of the tragedy. That weekend, I had been juggling participation in GSSBA youth events and “around the clock” business meetings so it wasn’t until one of our employees who happened to live in Lusignan and a few doors from one of the victims came in to work, that I was made aware of the incident. Even then I still didn’t grasp the enormity of the situation because our employee didn’t know all of the horrifying details. As more employees arrived, and the discussions escalated I realized that Guyana had a huge problem on her hands. My first instinct was to flee. I felt the fear rise in me as I contemplated walking 2 blocks to Burnham Court to witness a baskeball game that afternoon. In fear, I waited for the “other shoe to drop”, for the “retaliation”. It never happened. The Indian community showed remarkable restraint. With broken souls, fearful hearts, and an ongoing frustration with the systems (or lack of them) which would allow something like this to happen in their community, they remained calm. Guyana dodged a fatal bullet.
My interest and commitment in Guyana is centred on youth, sports and business development. Like many Guyanese who wish to return home to invest in Guyana’s future, I have no political aspirations and can’t say that I have a particular political affiliation. I build bridges and coalitions with those who will help our team to achieve the youth development and business goals we have identified. Guyana however is a country that tends to push you, if you’re not careful, into a position of taking political sides. It’s like living in a gang infested community and being confronted with the option of aligning with gang A for protection from gang B or aligning with gang B in order to get the most mundane of tasks accomplished. Clearly, in Guyana, your race is your gang colour. In other words for the most part, race is a pretty good indicator of party affiliation. I, like many Guyanese I’ve encountered recently, refuse to succumb to this however and will continue to build coalitions with those sympathetic to our youth development and business causes; regardless of race or political persuasion. What I am against is corruption, bias and incompetence wherever it is to be found. My passion, support and loyalties are to the youth of Guyana. Those African and Indian youths of all races, who study endlessly and find limited opportunities for work, who are talented, but find very little opportunity to hone their talents in sports, science, technology or the arts. To those who have joined our business team or who are a part of the GSSBA, these youth who are polite and intelligent and eloquent and motivated, to these young people I dedicate my loyalty and support.
The world at large is watching Guyana. Just when it seemed as if we had a good story to tell, that it was becoming easier to attract investors, tragedy struck. As I observe our team of youths working to defeat the online games they will soon support, I notice how they work together, rich, poor, Indian, African, all. They sit at their computers and challenge the game, they yell out questions across the room and although others are busy, there’s always a helpful response. The goal is the most important thing to them; conquer the game. Race is incidental. I can’t help but think how Guyana would turn around if our politicians (across the board) worked together to address issues of crime, corruption, drug trafficking and lack of opportunities for our young people. These problems are not PPP problems. They affect us all. They are PPP and AFC and PNC problems.
My own view is that those who benefit from the “high stakes” game of “race baiting” for political gain, do so at the peril of this nation. You only need to follow the world news for examples of ethnic conflicts which stew and simmer for years only to erupt into anger, violence and death. These are political tactics better avoided, since they inevitably spiral out of control.
The real sad fact is that while all eyes are fixated on race, what is clear is that race should be the least of the “common man’s” concerns. What is true is that in Guyana, wealthy people of all races have more in common with each other, than they do with their less financially fortunate brothers and sisters of the same race; they drive expensive cars, they live in the same communities, they vacation overseas, their kids attend the same schools, they eat in the same restaurants and are a part of the same social networks, their interest lies in money acquisition. In other words, problems of dirt roads, ongoing flooding, limited electrical infrastructure, and high food costs, overwhelmingly affect less financially fortunate “Guyanese” of all races and are not really a priority to those who don’t live, understand and suffer from these issues on a daily basis. Consequently, the poverty stricken masses and their needs will never be a priority as long as politicians are rewarded with votes based on race and not on their performance.
Guyanese citizens would live much better lives if they built political coalitions around their priorities (like affordable housing for the poor, or electricity, water and roads in lower income communities or improved policing, etc) rather then the ongoing mindless racial coalitions which breed discrimination, insecurity and inevitable violence.
The Indian community has displayed courage and wisdom in the face of this horror; the African community knows its own share of horrors. Tit for tat
is not in order though. Right here, right now, this horror belongs to all of us, the outrage should be shared by all. The pain of the Indian community is the pain of the African community. The bell may have tolled for those in Lusignan on that fateful night in February, but no one knows for “Whom The Bell Tolls” on another night. Do we really want to live in a country where the races exchange horrors on a daily, weekly, monthly basis?
Guyana has big problems and needs overseas investments and the consequent jobs and infrastructural improvements these investments will bring. The least among us must benefit however or no one will be able to enjoy the spoils of their success. Leaders who are corrupt, who abuse their power, and limit economic opportunities to their supporters add to the chaos, confusion and powder keg of frustration waiting to explode. Out of the Lusignan tragedy however, I know that a wiser Guyana will emerge. It is clear that people of all races are thinking a little more analytically. Questions are being asked now that have never been asked before. Guyanese citizens will emerge from this tragedy, stronger, and more astute, holding the leadership of all parties more accountable. The people have spoken, we anxiously await positive action from our leaders.