Dear Editor,
Red Thread stands in solidarity with the family of Quindon Bacchus, the young African-Guyanese man and father killed by police. We join those who took to the streets to join a grieving family and Golden Grove and other residents standing with them and demanding justice for the son of this community in the face of this most recent extra-judicial killing. Citizens have a right to peaceful and determined protest and assembly when faced with injustice.
We also condemn the violence visited upon vendors at Mon Repos. An Indian-Guyanese single mother was assaulted and lost her boxhand which was to pay her daughter’s school fees. An Indian-Guyanese vendor was attacked, robbed and had his minibus set on fire. Each of us has a responsibility to speak out against wrongdoing, whether it is police violence or inter-communal violence. We have a responsibility to condemn racial behaviour, actions and attitudes, past and present. We have a responsibility to speak up and insist that there is no excuse or justification for looting, physical and verbal assault, threats and the destruction of people’s livelihoods.
Violence against any one of us demeans all of us. We cannot continue to be divided in our responses. This kind of separation is our downfall and feeds the fear, anger and distrust. It must stop. There must be justice for Quindon Bacchus and there must be justice for the vendors at Mon Repos market. It is only collective action, within and across our various communities that can bring a halt to these deadly divisions.
Sincerely,
Susan Collymore
Karen de Souza
Joy Marcus
Halima Khan
Vanessa Ross
Alissa Trotz
Wintress White
Red Thread
