Dear Editor,
My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed the annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial Cricket competition in London each year for at least the last fifteen. It has become a vital fixture of the UK Guyanese diaspora summer calendar. Kudos to Faiyaz Ali and his small team for putting on this cross cultural, cross race, cross regional (and some good cricket) event with such aplomb over the years. It binds the community.
Faiyaz is a force of nature and should be treasured.
But, I am simply appalled to discover that thanks to a crass, deliberate (or not) piece of casual racism this event may be in jeopardy this year. No kudos to the undiplomatic member of the diaspora who told Ali ‘he heard that I am using the event to raise money for the PPP.’ That is a by-product of the hard work by the team not its central raison d’etre.
Time for that individual to apologise and time for decent members of the diaspora to offer their support to Faiyaz in print or by email (faiyazuk@gmail.com) to continue this cornerstone and to support the day itself when (and if) it happens this year.
This sort of divisive behaviour is not acceptable in modern Britain but more importantly in a Guyana on the crest of an oil boom.
Let us nip it in the bud.
Over to the decent minded.
Yours faithfully,
John ‘Bill Cotton/Reform’ Mair
