Dear Editor,
I am the brother of Bishop Juan A Edghill who currently serves as the Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commis-sion. After much thought and some discussion with my other siblings we decided that we should join in the condemnation of the blatant attack on the character of our brother because of the constitutional office he holds. These attacks by some persons, that are founded on lies, and in particular the recent attacks by Anthony Vieira seem to be designed to tarnish his character.
It is with much disgust and reluctance that I am forced because of my conscience to expose myself and family to these political opportunists and ignoramuses, who would say anything to get the less learned to catapult them into office so that they could achieve their own ends while ignorantly accusing others.
I have known, lived and communicated with my brother all my life. My brother, on leaving secondary school, after a very brief sojourn as a pupil teacher, pursued studies at the Full Gospel Fellowship Bible School from the age of eighteen years. Being five years my senior he would have had to commit the crime Mr Vieira is accusing him of and changed his name before I was born. His involvement and calling as a minister of religion was not as a result of some ‘great epiphany’ or a ‘turning away from… sinful ways.’
The accusations made by Mr Vieira are malicious and calculated to discredit the character of my brother and I have already expressed my views to my brother as to what action I believe should be taken by him.
I am in no way trying to defend my brother since I know that he is capable of defending himself, but I wish to point out to the general public that there is no basis for Mr Vieira to claim ignorance as his reason for levelling these ridiculous accusations against my brother.
Our family is a well known family in both the villages where we were nurtured in our formative years. We still, to this day, have relatives living there and do visit them whenever the opportunity presents itself. Therefore if Mr Vieira believed that he was in receipt of some information, because of the nature of that information, he could have simply visited the area and asked anyone from that village where he claimed the incident took place.
School records could be perused to determine whether or not his name was indeed changed, as is claimed by Vieira. The fact that no effort was made to determine the accuracy of these accusations before they were published points to a deliberate and calculated attempt to smudge the character of my brother. Mr Vieira as a one time owner of one of the more established media houses and working with some of Guyana’s best journalists and editors should have learnt something.
The fact that we both share the same parents and carry different last names is not unique in Guyana. Neither is the fact that my brother does not carry the last name of my father. This anomaly is in fact a blessing, and God, in whom we believe, may have in his wisdom and foresight caused this to happen. I say this because of the discrimination, ridicule and insults that I personally, my wife and children, and other relatives have had to endure from the few persons who know us to be related, as a result of the types of slander being propagated by Vieira and others.
My brother has been in public life as a preacher, and more recently as a holder of a constitutional office – that is as the Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission; he has never been a politician and never held any political office. Were that so, the vulgar attacks by Mr Vieira may have been understandable, though not acceptable.
They are not equals! Their careers and interests have taken them up different paths. Why the animosity then? Is preaching unity among Guyanese unpalatable to some persons? My brother was working to heal the differences in our society based on race long before the conceptualisation or formation of the Ethnic Relations Commission.
If he was criticized as a result of a decision he made or is thought to have made that may be understandable, but that comes with holding public office especially when decisions are made that affect the lives of people.
To ridicule a person for holding a constitutional office and to spread blatant lies that could cause physical harm to come to a person and/or are designed to create mischief as Mr Vieira has done is unacceptable in any civilised society and should be condemned by all right thinking individuals.
This ridiculous nonsense must stop at some time. How could someone who aspires to hold political office think and behave in this way? Are we to believe that the politics of one group of people in Guyana makes them better or superior to all other Guyanese? This is the thinking that Bishop Edghill is trying to eradicate. Is that then the reason for the vilification by some? Am I to assume that they prefer that we live in a state that is constantly at war with itself?
I am convinced that some of the venom that is being spread results from the frustration some feel for not achieving their own personal agenda within a political system that they had intentions of creating at the expense of some gullible citizens.
The work of the Ethnic Relations Commission in fostering unity, tolerance and understanding among Guyanese cannot be denied. I would encourage all Guyanese to follow the work of the ERC and educate themselves about the workings of all the Rights Commissions. This is important as there are a few out there who are seeking attention and will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.
Yours faithfully,
Raymon E Cummings/Edghill
On behalf of the children of Clifton
Cummings and Juanita Edghill
