Dear Editor,
In his column captioned ‘Wake up, sugar workers!’ in the Kaieteur News of November 25, 2008, Freddie Kissoon has made a profound opening statement that should he heeded by all, and especially the opposition political parties in Guyana. He states “The sugar workers got deceived. They are not to be blamed. All of us in the critical arena of political discourse have to take the shame. The list includes the PNC, the AFC, this columnist, and other columnists like Christopher Ram and Clive Thomas, Vision Guyana, Red Thread, the WPA, GHRA, ACDA, TUC, editors, commentators and other stakeholders.”
To the sugar workers, mainly Indo-Guyanese and PPP supporters, even a pittance from the governing party can be seen as something tangible and therefore worth their vote, when they know that no one else will champion their cause. This is simply one more example of a long, ongoing trend where the opposition parties in particular have failed to seize the opportunity to demonstrate to PPP supporters that they are prepared to fight their cause.
Not too long ago, for several weeks the newspapers reported on the trauma of Hindus in Alexander Village over the disruption of their Diwali celebrations and the damage to their temple and homes by vandals who invaded the village.
With prominent Hindu leaders supporting the PPP, as expected, the failure of the police to provide adequate protection was sheepishly ignored by the government. Unfortunately, and most surprising, was the silence of the opposition parties and others identified by Mr Kissoon in the opening statement quoted above.
It has been the conventional wisdom in Guyana that Indo-Guyanese vote for the PPP because of race. Freddie Kissoon is a frequent proponent of this view. It is now time for a more objective and critical look at this matter. In my view, some PPP supporters certainly vote for this party because of race but others do so because they do not see the other political parties championing their causes. By default or ambivalence, the opposition political parties are allowing the PPP to have a monopoly on the support of Indo-Guyanese.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Hergash
Editor’s note
The Alliance For Change did issue a statement on the vandalism in Alexander Village on Diwali night, and the substance of their press release was published in this newspaper.
