Andaiye was an extremely wise woman who was full of profound words and beliefs. I was always aware of how little time I had with her and would seek to document some of our interactions, so that even when her physical presence faded, her teachings to me would endure. One of the many lessons I gained from her was the importance of raising one’s consciousness before we seek to raise that of others. It seems simple enough but this can be a very difficult process as it is continuous and often full of fits and starts.
Often, we might not be ready for the changes in our worldview this brings, but it is necessary if we are seriously committed to the concepts of liberation that drive us. While those of us who work to overthrow oppressive systems are often critical of hierarchies, these hierarchies are steadily replicated in our work. There is a refusal to question or address one’s motivations for saying or doing something. We often get lost in concerns of the individual while the collective is ignored. A part of this has to do with our individualistic culture that prioritizes ego and lone wolf behaviour; but there must be a movement away from this to one that is centred on collective interests and growth.
We all have different experiences and positions in our social sphere that results in a tendency to organize around divisions, so collectivity can often seem an alien concept. Inherent in this is a refusal to examine power and our relationship with it. Were we to have honest assessments of how power works and plays out amongst us though, it would lead to truths that we have intentionally been suppressing. But there must be a willingness to unravel and dig into our own experiences as both the oppressed and the oppressor. This can be a hard process as the truths found can expose our own unacknowledged biases and limitations. Throughout this journey, there is always the hope that the truths gleaned would lead us to a better and more strengthened place from which we can continue to do the work that is necessary for our collective survival and liberation.
There is of course usefulness in organizing within groups as the issues faced by one are different from others and may require certain individualistic approaches. When our factions are solely centred on individualist concerns and gains rather than community work and building across the varying divides however, the movements we aim to build often disintegrate long before they are able to pick up steam. This can often leave us even more powerless to effect the change that is needed.
Questions we must all seek to ask ourselves: Do we use our positions of privilege – no matter how relative – to serve the nation or to be served? Are we comfortable with taking steps back to give the power to those on whose behalf we often speak? Are we interested in collective development or just that of our individual group? If the latter, how does that make us different from the oppressive systems we aim to challenge?
How we go about challenging power can vary from group to group, but there is no doubt that it must be challenged with a movement towards collaborative development. The way in which this challenge has been playing out over the years however has been based on exclusionary politics and economic systems. There is always a centring of us vs. them. With our persistent refusal to see or acknowledge the fears of the other side, we are stuck on a revolving path of one race domination where calls for shared governance are staunchly rejected. These rejections usually play out along the line of, they didn’t so why should we? This ensures that the conversation never goes past the stage of theory.
Shared governance should not be about solidification of powers at the top for the two main parties, but a governance system that is inclusive and focused on the development of all of our people. The powerful will always wield their power against those with less and it is in this understanding that we must move away from the idea of individual group power. We must not only challenge the power systems that oppress us, but the power relations inherent in how we deal with each other because oppressive systems ultimately rely and thrive on our divisions.
So when we challenge power systems and hierarchies we should be careful not to replicate them and seek to ensure that the poorest and most marginalized groups are not further put at a disadvantage. Class can be useful in helping us to analyze this. As Andaiye once told me, if you’re not dealing with class in your work then you are ignoring poor people. One does not have to be left wing to understand the impacts of governments and institutions such as the IMF and World Bank on those who are poor. While our internal domestic ethnic squabbles often take centre-stage, we should be mindful of the larger power structures that are at play that aim to keep us in a position of conflict, dependency and subservience.
Today, much like in our not so distant past, Caribbean governments are returning to and strengthening their relationships with the IMF and the World Bank. The Structural Adjustment Policies inherent in receiving aid/donations from these institutions always heightens inequality in the countries that are desperate enough to seek them out. These relationships prioritize the interest of corporations and not the people. So while many learned economists are quick to point out how through them we can see growth, the people on the ground can never share in this optimism.
Given that us Caribbean countries have emerged from and continue to exist in a state of debt driven desperation and poor leadership, we are often left with very few options but to bend to the influence of powerful imperialist countries and the institutions they founded. We are easy prey for ABCE countries and the pushing of self-interested agendas in our economic and political sphere. To point out these glaring realities can often see one regarded as a conspiracy theorist, but according to one of the sharpest minds Guyana has ever been blessed with, “I learned the truth of what you call conspiracy theories when I was a child, right where I was living.” – Andaiye, The Point is to Change the World