It’s August! Explore Guyana!
These few remarks probably best simplifies my personal understandings, approaches and stressful intolerance with respect to the concept and related issues regarding race.
One dictionary definition advises that race is “a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits”. There are other varied meanings of course. The one chosen above mentions “category”, “distinctive physical traits”. “Physical”? “Ethnicities” will include socio-cultural attributes as well, I suppose.
I meekly (and shamefully) announce herein that my personal mental lethargy seems to prevent me from ever producing my publication to be entitled ‘The African Human Race” to repeat the proven theory that mankind all originated on the African landmass aeons ago. Those black and brown pioneers duly roamed the planet to reproduce as Asians, Caucasians, all others. One race somehow became various “races”; eventually “nations.” Darker and fairer races eventually/developed into competitions and enemies. Human history is replete with the consequences of “racial” conflicts.
Here in good Ole Guyana, after slavery and indentureship ended, two major race-groups have done a significantly successful job of allowing manufactured divisions to engender both benign and active manifestations of racism.
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Race, pride, political racism
If members of some racial category with characteristically distinct behaviour and culture prefer to be with “their own”; to support and promote their specific existence, that is not racism. Love for, pride in one’s group is natural. It is always hoped that various proud groups would reach out to, even mingle with others to epitomise inter-racial productive harmony.
But since the 2020 myth of electoral thievery, promoted by the 2020 losers; since the advent of the Ali Presidency – with its own missteps – the drumbeat of racism has been becoming louder. (Note that ‘racism” is when opportunity, support and/or priority and wealth are dispensed solely on the criteria of race and bias.) The current promoters of political racism have to produce verifiable evidence of racism in high places, if their incendiary claims are to be believed.
Just this Tuesday the political scientist/historian from Buxton, now resident in Arizona, USA, was firing up an Independence Park gathering with dubious evidence of racism against African Guyana. (Have they ever proven their claim about thousands of Afro-Guyanese being made jobless after August 2020?)
Frankly speaking it is my personal belief and prediction that the race-card will be played for all it’s worth during planned upcoming rallies and street protests. Will the majority of Guyana be convinced? Will analyses reveal that the lure of oil-and-gas millions for the next two decades motivate relentless divisive actions based on the politics of race? Be on the lookout! Poor us. Next week I’ll re-advise what the government should do to pre-empt and blunt. (Even if the opposition takes the praise!)
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Promoting “C’s” that plague
Our society is plagued with and by C-words that harm. Negativity galore. The positive words and concepts and practices of C’s are being submerged. And political ambition utilises the negative C’s.
Just glance – if you’re mindful to – at the letter-page of certain print media; at the bile from known surrogate-columnists; at the too-convenient social media; at overseas opposition reps. The right to criticise is so abused. Their favourite `C’ words? Corruption, causing conflicts, confusion, confrontation, cuss-downs, contention, conundrum, Covid, coolie (in the negative demeaning sense of the latter word, as used in our land.)
Readers are encouraged to promote, with meaningful action, such `C’ words as co-operation, courtesy, conversation, constructive, co-existence, competence and cultural collaboration. Agreed?
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Local August travel
As I’ve done before, I ask the local Tourism Ministry to promote and provide structured subsidies for local tourism.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of young Guyanese are now at home for the long “August school holidays”. This is the time for urban youth to get opportunities to explore rural and hinterland Guyana. (And yes, the country folks must visit the towns too.)
Where is Imbaimadai? Have you ever visited Fort Island, Wakenaam or Orealla? In which Region is Aishalton? Dartmouth? Troolie Island? N.W. Kumaka? Supenaam? Monkey Mountain? Papaya?
I’ve been fortunate to explore much of Guyana. Yet I’ve never visited “inside” Mahdia? How about you? Form a group. Approach the Ministry or Private Sector agency. To love Guyana is to know Guyana. Take local vacations.
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Points to ponder…
1) Why should Emancipation month be used to
divide? Be proud without arrogance or hate!
2) During this August study the slave revolts of 1763, 1823 and 1834.
3) Oil and gas or no oil and gas, will there ever be a
government to end electricity blackouts here?
4) Now is the time to refurbish and upgrade schools.
5) Who own/manages the Tower Hotel these days?
‘Til next week
