Dear Editor,
Hardly a day passes without an embarrassing soap opera-like episode in Guyana, but at the end of the day regardless of where the blame falls, the only people who are suffering are our hard-working Guyanese men and women, not to mention our large youth population which is caught in this acid-like blame game. The Guyanese people yearn to live and work in an environment that is conducive politically, socially and economically.
As Guyana approaches her fiftieth year of independence, the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission could be a perfect gift for my fellow Guyanese especially if we utilize the services of Sir Shridhath Ramphal, Justice Desiree Bernard and an expert on race relations from the ABC countries. This kind of commission was used in South Africa during the post-apartheid era, and today the results are staggering; SA is well on its way to where all races live side by side regardless of political and social affiliation. The then senator and now President Barack Obama in his 2008 Democratic acceptance speech said, “This is not a Black America, White or Latino America, this is the United States of America.” That speech made every American reclaim their dream of belonging to their great land. Editor, this is not a Black, Indian, or Amerindian Guyana; this is the Co-operative Republic of Guyana of six races. It is the land of the free with a motto One people, one nation, one destiny. Let us reconcile our differences and let harmony and dialogue be discovered as this is the only pathway to national development and by extension, nation building.
Yours faithfully,
Rollin Tappin
