Dear Editor,
I note with interest a letter in the March 26, 2013 Stabroek News titled, `Conclusive racial balance in Guyana’s armed forces and civil service should find urgent final resolution.’
The tone of Mr. Sultan Mohamed’s letter suggests that he wrote out of a genuine concern for the welfare of Guyana. However, as seems to be the case in other instances, the author of the letter seems unaware of this question of race in the public service and the security forces.
Myself and others have written extensively on this issue, which to my mind, should now be a non-issue.
The issues of race, tribe and creed are as old as mankind and everywhere we need to understand the origins based on the particular environment, or region.
Guyana has a fascinating experience of race and creed based on the circumstances at the time, in other cases engineered by the overlords.
For example: during slavery, many slaves ran away from the estates on the coast and sought refuge up river and further inland, areas then occupied and controlled by the Amerindians.
The plantocracy paid the Amerindians substantial sums to capture and return to the coastal estates the (runaway) slaves.
Later, to ease the burden of bringing in bodies dead or alive, European slave owners paid Amerindians money for each severed right hand. This, of course, introduced suspicion and tension.
Happily, in some of the Amerindian communities, the captains and the people accommodated the slaves and, as you visit certain communities, even to this day, you can see evidence of the African and Amerindian mix.
Later as noted elsewhere, there was the problem created by the introduction of immigrants. After slavery was abolished, it was the freed African slaves who, having been completely severed from ancestral roots had no other option but to adopt and mimic the slave masters’ culture, and that explains why today our Chinese, Portuguese, (Madeirans) and Indian brothers carry the names of their ancestors: Chin, Balgobin, De Freitas while the Afro Guyanese with dubious pride carry the labels of the slave masters; Green, John, Granger, Kranenburg, Le Fleur (English, British, Dutch, French).
It is they, the freed Africans who quickly assimilated the English culture including education, Christianity and the mode of dress, which vaulted them into the security forces, public service, health education etc., and therefore dominated that sector, not to mention that in the early 20th Century, efforts had to be made to persuade the Indians to send their children to English schools.
During the two World Wars of the 20th century, there is no evidence that Indian families sacrificed their young men to go to war, but that was the nature of our society.
After the PPP victory in 1957, this question first surfaced and for political reasons, the PPP Administration began discriminating in the Administration of the colony. This led to Sydney King (Eusi Kwayana ) from within the PNC raising a demand for partition.
Burnham and others having a broader vision, resisted what seemed ‘at the time’ an attractive solution. The proposal was to separate into a racially divided community.
Those of us who supported Burnham, apart from the principle asked, where will you put the ‘Douglas’ and other mixed people? The rest is history.
From time to time this matter was hotly debated, particularly, in the early 60’s of racial balance.
One commission actually recommended and it was implemented to lower the physical requirement in the Security Forces to allow Indo Guyanese to join.
Recall at that time, it was assumed that the average Afro Guyanese was bigger and taller than the average Indo Guyanese. The rest is history.
It is an absurdity for anyone to suggest ethnic balance in the Civil Service and Security Forces alone in this 21st Century.
Under the PNC Administration, in spite of our history, we had several illustrious and competent Indo Guyanese sons to head the Police Force, Balram Raghubir and the Army, Chief of Staff, Clarence Price and Major General Joseph Singh
I have contended that, if in our country we have ethnic balance as a philosophy that is just and proper, then it is ridiculous, unfair and myopic to call for ethnic balance, if it is not to be extended to allocation of lands, educational opportunities, fire arm and trade licences, licences for importation of goods, employment in all businesses, and I repeat, all businesses, in the banking/commercial and private sectors.
In other words, in a country of less than a million people, we ought not to discuss ethnic balance in any one area. To add a lighter note, perhaps we should have ethnic balance for those we send to prison and to the grave.
What must be debated is the need for justice, equity and decency to be all pervasive.
The opposite now characterizes today’s Guyana such as the issue of licences, disposal of State property and those who exercise political patronage.
Look at the sums being spent on sugar estates and we are anxious to see how much will be allocated for the restoration of urban and other centres where there is ethnic imbalance.
In his final sentence Sultan Mohamed advocates the need to debate federalism. It would permit the four provinces (Berbice, Demerara, Rupununi and Essequibo) their own budgets etc.
This is similar to King’s proposal for partition referred to earlier.
To bring real peace and security to Guyana; we already have the answer – it is for our Parliament agreeing quickly to Local Government Reform where the elected leaders will be allowed to manage their respective communities and the steel heel exercised by the Ministry of Local Government is removed from their necks.
Further, a truly imaginative Local Government Reform will allow for the release of the creative energies of the people in the respective communities.
Knowing Guyana, in time, with a caring responsible and responsive executive, race in Guyana will not be a matter for contention or conflict.
The seed was sown in 1964. Let us nurture it, so that we have a truly great democratic and good Guyana where all people will regard the country as a delightful place of Partnerships for National Unity.
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green, J.P.
