Dear Editor,
There are some occasions where I find some Indians volunteer, albeit coded, messages to Africans. I think since 1992 Moses Bhagwan was the first to make the bold step to address a multitude of issues in his article of September 10, 2006, captioned, ‘Being Indian in Guyana: The challenges,’ in which he proclaimed, “Indians will never prosper in Guyana if Africans become improverished, and they will never live securely unless Africans are secure.”
One month later, R Persaud, in a letter dated October 20, 2006, captioned ‘Indians should tackle the problems in their own community,’ wrote, “I will do all in my powers to protect and preserve the proud history of my race. But this pride does not give me the right to dominate; nor authority to malign and distort other races’ history and contributions to Guyana in order to prove who I am.”
Given my experiences based on a life-long association with Indians my take from the above quotes is that both are coded. Mr Bhagwan was not talking to Indians. They know that. They live what he was saying. He was seeking a positive response from Africans and their leaders. I thought it was the perfect opening to approach and take Mr Bhagwan on board to find out ways to make Indians comfortable, to find strategies to get them onto our side and get their votes. But instead the response was, ‘Mr Bhagwan said it. You see. That’s what we were talking about.’ The opportunity to get inside Mr Bhagwan’s head, the point of view of the Indian, was lost.
The second quote from Mr Persaud reflects a crack in the rigid thinking of the older cadre, the willingness to break away from the norm, if the right leader presents him/herself, even if that person is from another race or party. Over the past year even more Indians are getting bolder in expressing their opinions and are rejecting the way politics is dispensed in Guyana. More and more they are breaking away from the mould of fear and insecurity driven by propaganda. A few days ago, Mike Persaud wrote about himself being even bolder. In the absence of African leaders’ ability to take the cues, to read the glaring codes, Mr Mike Persaud wrote about going directly to Mr Corbin to implore him to appoint Mr Murray as the PNC’s presidential leader.
I find that most Africans and their leaders do not really understand the psyche of their opposition. They are stuck in their foregone conclusion about Indians and their tendencies to vote race. No one seemed to have taken the time out to understand the insecurities of the Indians, even after a Burnham presidency. The fact that none of the opposition after the passing of Mr Hoyte, has found it necessary to have an Indian in play to break the deadlock, amplifies their inability to read the codes.
Except for three things Mr Hoyte did, I think in the present environment he would have been able to take the PNC to victory – as a matter of fact, since 2006. After the death of Mr Burnham he had carved out a reputation as a statesman. He lifted the bans, dismissed some radicals and gave support to the persons and businesses that were financially sound and capable of taking off – mostly the Indians. He earned their admiration and the sobriquet ‘Desmond Persaud.’
Mr Hoyte’s most glaring mistake was the honour he gave to Blackie. Everyone knew he was protesting police brutality but the Guyana flag on the coffin was terrible optics. Many began to have doubts about him when he fired Yesu Persaud from SAPIL after Yesu spoke on a Guard platform. But after Blackie and the “slow fire” speech, many took that to mean a change in the statesman.
The way I see it, the disturbances of the sixties and some glaring atrocities of the 28 years of PNC rule have hardened Indian positions about Africans and thus a fear of African leadership. Indians want persons in power who are sensitive to their religion, their beliefs and their insecurities. They want a government to protect their entrepreneurial spirit, their dignity and their finances. That is why they would feel more comfortable with an Indian at the helm at this stage of our history. The challenge for the opposition is to get an Indian both groups would be comfortable with.
The PPP has not been good at taking care of their base. They cannot or will not curb the criminals. This should backfire big-time on the PPP, but the fact that the opposition parties cannot read the codes, take the cues and already have persons in place to capitalize on the situation are indications they are not ready for game day.
Yours faithfully,
F Skinner
