Dear Editor,
May 26 is Guyana’s 57th independence anniversary. The historic date also marks the 59th anniversary of the atrocities committed against Indians in the mining town of Wismar. Cheddi Jagan referred to the atrocities as a “massacre,” because of the totality of the death, destruction, and organized nature of the planned attacks against Indians, most of which took place in broad daylight. The Wismar atrocities are documented by eyewitness narratives whose evidentiary submissions, personal and written, are buried in the Report of the Wismar, Christianburg and Mackenzie Commission which was established by the British Government and published on January 25, 1965. The result was the uprooting of the entire Indian community from Wismar.
The Report concluded that “the disturbances which took place in the Wismar-Christianburg-Mackenzie area on May 25th, 1964 were politically and racially inspired….and the fact that the security forces were in no case able to apprehend arsonists forces us to conclude that the destruction was not ‘spontaneous’, but was organised, and well organised.” Arson and anti-Indian violence took place on Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, and rapidly escalated on May 25. A curfew, imposed by British troops helped to restore order out of chaos in Wismar.
Cheddi Jagan in “The West on Trial”, noted his objections to the May 26 date accepted by Prime Minister Forbes Burnham for Guyana’s date of independence. Subsequently, President Cheddi Jagan omitted the date from the national calendar of holidays during his time in office. However, it was reinstated by a subsequent PPP/C Administration. Like the PNC, the PPP acquiesced to a conspiracy to silence the events, and victims, of Wismar 1964, almost all of whom were PPP supporters. Moreover, Janet Jagan, who was the Minister of Home Affairs during the Wismar atrocities, and whose politics were molded by “the prejudice and discrimination” she experienced “as a Jew” once told an audience of primarily Indian women in Queens, NY, that the atrocities of Wismar were best forgotten.
Remembering Wismar 1964 is not about political retribution, expressing moral superiority over others, or claiming victimhood. It is about reconciliation and giving a voice to the silenced victims, many of whom are still in our presence. If May 26 is to be commemorated as a national holiday, it should also stand as a day of remembrance for the victims and survivors of the Wismar Massacre.
Sincerely,
Baytoram Ramharack
