Dear Editor,
On March 20, 2022, a woman special constable of the Guyana Police Force was allegedly assaulted, chased, spat upon and subjected to vile racial slurs while on official duty at the home of retired Chancellor Carl Singh. The alleged perpetrator has been identified as Mr. Nirvan Singh, an attorney-at-law and son of the retired Chancellor. At the time of writing, we are unaware of any action taken by the Guyana Police Force to charge the alleged perpetrator and have not heard or read of any concern or condemnation expressed by the government about the alleged incident.
If the allegations are true (and we have no reason to believe otherwise), yet another gaping hole will have been punched in the government’s ‘One Guyana’ slogan. We continue to see and witness actions which appear to contradict racial and ethnic unity and equality and equity. Discrimi-nation continues to stalk Guyana and cannot be wished away by nice words and photo shoots. For Guyana to fulfil its mandate of One People, One Nation and One Destiny, we all must recognize that we are a multi-racial, multi- ethnic country and find all means to ensure that all ethnic groups, be they the majority or a minority, have confidence that any and all discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender, geography, social status, sexual orientation, disability, religion or political affiliation (perceived or otherwise) will not be tolerated.
Guyana is not only a signatory to but has ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which states in Article 2 (a) “Each State Party undertakes to engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions and to ensure that all public authorities and public institutions, national and local shall act in conformity with this obligation.” We commend Ms. Shawnette Bollers for her courage in making a report and taking her own legal action. We call on the Guyana Police Force to ensure that her allegations are fully investigated and appropriate action taken. We join Red Thread and stand in solidarity with all survivors of racial and ethnic discrimination. End racial & ethnic discrimination & hate speech in words and action now!
Sincerely,
Danuta Radzik
Sherlina Nageer
Vidyaratha Kissoon
Salima Hinds
Vanda Radzik
Josephine Whitehead
Jocelyn Dow
Janette Bulkan
Akola Thompson
Colin Klautky
LaToya Williams
Joan McDonald
Suraiya Ismail
Joel Simpson
Melinda Janki
Nicole Cole
Charlene Wilkinson
Raquel Thomas
Lisa Edwards
Ayo Dalgety Dean
Ingrid Sarabo
Mellissa Ifill
Millie Milton
Dr. Rei-launya Amsterdam
Zoe Sarabo
