Category Archives: Justice

August 18, 2012 · 7:07 pm

David Hinds’ Buxton call

I am unequivocal in my condemnation of the Working People’s Alliance/A Partnership for National Unity’s David Hinds’ call for the digging up/ blocking of the East Coast Highway by Buxtonians in support of the Linden Struggle. Given Hinds’ professional engagement I expected a more judicious and discerning reading of the present mood of Guyana. I view Brother Hinds’ call as overventuresome and ill-conceived. This is especially so now that the August 17th Agreement has been initialled and likely to be signed by the two parties.

Privately I had advocated, immediately following the July 18th massacre of Lindeners by police, that the struggle should take the form of Lindeners peacefully slow travelling to Georgetown, and peacefully occupying the Square of the Revolution and outside Office of the President until their demands were met. I concede now, that such action, had it been undertaken, would have diluted the Linden Struggle. What transpired, of Lindeners locating their struggle in Linden, was a more effective course of action which has forced the government to formally yield to their demands as we have seen with the August 17th Agreement.

I can understand, in the face of the executive abuse of Guyana, Hinds’ anxiety to see the removal of the unjust PPP regime and thus the nationalizing of the struggle. I understand too Hinds’ expressed disappointment with the rest of Guyana not taking to the streets in standing in solidarity with Linden. Political action, revolution and change though often come in stages and piecemeal and not always as a flood of overnight transformation. It is part of the process.

If Buxtonians are of the conviction that they, as a community, continue (we know they have been subjected to) to be maligned and discriminated against then they have every right to do as Linden did and protest as they are allowed to constitutionally. Buxtonians have demonstrated that when they reach that stage they will take the actions they deem necessary and they need not academics or scholars to issue calls to them to act.

Further Hinds’ proposal in all likelihood will only allow for regression in the national struggle for change from the PPP regime. The blocking of the East Coast Highway at this time will allow the legendary PPP propaganda machinery to heighten its effectiveness by sending their divisive messages of fear to their base in an effort to galvanize their support based on emotion above reason.

Hinds fails to appreciate too that events of the 2002-2008 crime wave are too fresh in the psyche of the nation and any action by Buxton such as proposed by him stands to quickly alienate the Indo-Guyanese community who demonstrated in no insignificant way on November 28th that they too are in strong disapproval of the regime’s handling of the republic. Gains of unparallelled proportions have been made within the last year especially, opposition political leaders must be astute and shrewd in protecting these and ensuring that these are not squandered.

It will also allow the regime to float the ‘anarchy line’ as cover for the more violent and fatal action by agents of the state which will lead to the death and violation of our brothers and sisters. We know of the regime’s approval of the use of deadly force in response to even peaceful protests.

That Hinds’ call has not gained traction speaks for itself.

What I believe Hinds and other senior leaders of APNU and also the leaders of AFC should be undividedly committed to is the matter of constitutional reform which will allow for a change of government by the ballot box when elections are next called. The PPP is comfortable with the current system which allows that party a minority of the total vote but 100% of the executive power. There must be constitutional reform and there, above all else, is where the combined political energies ought to be focussed.

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August 17, 2012 · 4:25 pm

GBA Linden statement

One may find it unavoidable to observe that the Guyana Bar Association statement on Linden is late two days shy a month. As noted by eminent attorney-at-law and Chairman of the Alliance For Change and also former president of the GBA, Nigel Hughes, “one month later, long after IAHRC’s GHRA’s statement and international condemnation. The Bar is expected to lead on issues of this nature not follow.”

Nevertheless it has been made and has been placed on public record.

Guyana Bar Association statement: “WE THE GUYANESE PEOPLE, proud heirs of the indomitable will of our forbearers, in a spirit of conciliation and cooperation, proclaim this constitution in order to:

Safeguard and build on the rich heritage won through tireless struggle, bequeathed us by our forebears:
Affirm our sovereignty, our independence and our indissolubility;
Forge a system of governance that promotes concerted effort and broad-based participation in a national decision-making in order to develop a viable economy and a harmonious community based on democratic values, social justice, fundamental human rights, and the rule of law.” [Preamble to the Guyana Constitution]

It is more a heritage of lawlessness, social injustice and arbitrariness which has been evident in the recent tragedy in Linden. Only time will permit a more objective discussion on the incidents in Linden, at this stage the Guyana Bar Association seeks to remind the public of the importance of the Rule of Law in our interaction with each other and with the Police Force. Finger pointing will continue; it is a political necessity. But if the Rule of Law had been observed by all participants, there would have been and would be no tragedy.

Article 40 of the Constitution provides that “Every person in Guyana is entitled to… (c) freedom of conscience, of expression and of assembly and association….

This right is not carte blanche permission to congregate and disrupt. It is sometimes necessary to obtain a permit to stage a public protest. In addition, the protest must at no time cause a public nuisance, private trespass, or obstruction of public highways. It is not relevant whether the protest is just; an unjust cause is equally entitled to the constitutional right to express itself. But the voice of that expression must not interfere with rights of others by trespassing, obstructing or causing nuisance. If the protest crosses that line, there is a breakdown in the rule of law.

Article 138 of the Constitution provides that “No person shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in execution of the sentence of a court…(or) (a) for the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property; (b) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; (c) For the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection, or mutiny; or (d) In order to prevent the commission by that person of a criminal offence…”

These exceptions do not provide carte blanche license to kill. There must be what the legal scholars call proportionality. If there is an immediate threat to life, or an immediate danger of escalation to widespread violence, deadly force may become necessary. But this deadly force must be the only available means of accomplishing the permitted goal; it must be necessary.

The use of lethal force by the State is to be avoided and when resorted to, regretted. In Fundamental Rights in Commonwealth Caribbean Constitutions, Demerieux states “A high incidence of police killings in any society must indicate a problem in the political system and thereafter, one in the system of law and order. For whatever the circumstances of these or indeed ‘private’ killings, the creation and execution of law and order policies is itself part of the business of the political system and of the government at any given time.

When citizens are harmed by a public breakdown in the Rule of Law, the authorities have an obligation to ensure that due enquiry is made into the circumstances in a timely manner. When the State fails to act on that obligation, it encourages the decline of the rule of law – the root of its authority to govern the people.

The law provides procedures where lethal force has possibly been used by an arm of the State for an immediate investigation to explore publicly the circumstances. The Guyana Bar Association therefore lends its voice to the demands for immediate inquiry into the circumstances which caused injury and loss of life on 18th July 2012.

The rule of law is an essential tenet in a peaceful and democratic country and the citizens of our country. As Hobbes observed four hundred years ago, when the Rule of Law breaks down, life becomes nasty, brutish and short.

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August 14, 2012 · 3:15 pm

Dictator Manickchand

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Minister of Education Priya Manickchand is unconscionably denying 4000 students access to their CSEC results because some students did not return loaned material. All are being made to suffer as a result of the delinquency of some. Another manifestation of dictatorship. Wither equality and justice in Guyana.

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July 8, 2012 · 6:50 pm

Being black in Guyana

The sickeningly racist Guyana Chronicle editorial has been thankfully, if not resoundingly, condemned. There has been some response but a half-hearted apology and talk of resignation notwithstanding, this bold declaration by the Chronicle, must open the nation’s eyes to the gravity of the racism cancer being perpetuated in our midst. And it is being cultivated by those who benefit from it.

So well have they thought it has flourished that they have now become emboldened to formalize it in a written declaration to the nation. Our sensitivities have been repulsed by the printed words but these words are the manifestation of the conviction of swathes of Guyanese who have been so indoctrinated through bottom-house engagements.

These are not, we must not be led to accept, the isolated rantings of a lone crusader. To quote Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley, “this is real”. We will recall the “bottom of the social ladder” comment, the marginalization, the discrimination and the now token acceptance that Afro-Guyanese are second, even third class citizens in their own country.

A few weeks ago, my wife, who is Afro-Guyanese, joined me in Antigua. I complained to her that I was unhappy living here, and that I’d prefer to move back to Guyana. My wife, who enjoys her many travels but is as fond of Guyana as I am, appreciated how I felt about wanting to be home. She was compelled, though, to underscore reality.

Guyana is a country sharply characterised, as a dysfunctional society of greedy, self-serving politicians, open corruption, accepted injustice, institutional racism, ethnic discrimination, national insecurity and uncontrollable crime. Guyana is a nation of warts and depression – a society in full decay, sunken.

My reasoning to her was that I desire being in Guyana to help change it for the better, not escape it and hope for and look to others to so do. Then she made an observation, biting as it was poignant. I was left anguished and ashamed for my country.

She likes Antigua because “it’s ok to be black here”.

I believe that I have always been acutely aware of the challenges of the Afro-Guyanese man and woman in Guyana, never before though, had it been framed with such distressing and intense profundity in my mind.

Those who wish to know are not in doubt that Afro-Guyanese, under this government, have been systematically marginalised and discriminated against. Reference the historic King Kong case for your evidence. There is now a growing sense that there is an intensification of the racial onslaught and that the infancy of an outright attack is being engineered to be waged against our Afro-Guyanese brothers and sisters to incite them.

The people of Linden live the inequality. Afro-Guyanese, young men in particular, suffer silently, daily, from it – their opportunities being far fewer, if existent; their rewards lesser, if available. They are devalued, dehumanised and criminalized. And now the authorities have become so brazen that they throw it in the face of the nation in editorial.

It matters not how many of our Afro-Guyanese brothers and sisters are accomplished, exemplary citizens. Those who are tasked by the administration to shape the Indo-Guyanese thinking are stressing that Afro-Guyanese – as a group – must always be seen as thieves, criminals, murderers and never to be trusted. And if an Indo-Guyanese sees an Afro-Guyanese who does not fit these descriptions, then that Afro-Guyanese must be considered an anomaly, an exemption.

The observation of independent minded former magistrate in Guyana Yohhanseh Cave, who now lives and works in the British Virgin Islands strikes at the heart of the persecutors.“This (the Guyana Chronicle editorial) is just another reason why so many Afro-Guyanese feel disrespected, delegitimised and marginalised in the country of our birth.”

On the one hand Indo-Guyanese are being conditioned to believe that Afro-Guyanese are of no social value and worthy of nothing good. On the other there is a campaign to debase and psychologically repress Afro-Guyanese into third class citizenry and for which they must show content, not contempt.

Both are equally revolting in conception and practice.

Consider the following:

1. Until recently adjusted none of Guyana’s ambassadors were Afro-Guyanese.

2. Until recently none of the heads of state agencies were Afro-Guyanese.

3. The Berbice Bridge was deliberately located away from New Amsterdam, an area where Afro-Guyanese live. It has been argued that this being to purposefully spite the Afro-Guyanese community, disallowing them from being economic benefactors of this investment.

4. Afro-Guyanese are allocated lots mostly in the decidedly low-income housing schemes such as Parfait Harmonie on the West Bank of Demerara (and far removed from their places of employment).

5. Almost all of the more desirable lots in the Tuschen Housing Scheme were “allocated” to and are occupied by Indo-Guyanese. Afro-Guyanese have been “allocated” and occupy less desirable lots towards the back and long distances away from the transportation system, schools and other facilities.

With regard to house lot allocation, what is at play, in terms of political strategy, ought not escape us. Afro-Guyanese are being moved from their traditional areas such as Georgetown to Region 3 (Parfait Harmonie and Tuschen) which will allow for the opposition strength at the ballot box to be diluted in Region 4. In Region 3, the PPP has traditionally been overwhelmingly strong so the region is able to absorb the increased opposition votes without losing control of the region. The reverse is true with the “allocation” of house lots to Indo-Guyanese in areas such as Diamond. Most of these Indo-Guyanese are not originally from Region 4 so thus they come in and the thinking is that they will bolster the PPP vote in that region. This emphasizes and crystallizes why it is necessary for the authorities to perpetuate race based voting.

6. The obsessive control of radio, which in the year 2012, remains in state monopoly.

7. The refusal to allow Lindeners access to privately owned television stations.

8. The national athletics track is being built at Leonora, a mostly Indo-Guyanese community which is not known to produce track and field athletes and far removed from the communities on the West Demerara and Guyana which are known to produce track and field athletes.

9. The Skeldon Sugar Factory – the largest single investment in Guyana’s history – is allotted to an industry which is in global ruin and in an almost purely Indo-Guyanese community for the protection of Indo-Guyanese jobs while the bauxite industry (where there is a greater Afro-Guyanese presence) is disowned and left to flounder by government.

10. The Guyana National Stadium is located in an area surrounded mostly by Indo-Guyanese and for cricket (a sport dominated by Indo-Guyanese) while there is negligible investment in football (which is dominated by Afro-Guyanese) and no national football stadium.

The examples abound and are available in every form.One political commentator recently raised the issue of the ethnic representation in print advertisements. I have long noted the increasing ethnic disparity, now heavily skewed in favour of Indo-Guyanese and Caucasians in advertisements. This is a certain sign of a cultural acceptance of the superior positioning of Indo-Guyanese and the secondary assignment to Afro-Guyanese and Amerido-Guyanese as well.

In denial we may have been, the truth is now unavoidable. Guyana has become a country in which one is privileged to be Indo-Guyanese and cursed to Afro-Guyanese. It is not just not ok to be black in Guyana, it is a condemnation to a life of less.

Those responsible for this state of depravity must be removed from authority for they have shamed and disgraced a proud nation by systematically committing a people to social, political and economic slavery.

“The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.” – Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara

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June 21, 2012 · 4:29 am

Poor people fed up

Well I’ve made up my mind to end up in the morgue
Right now I’d rather die, cause man a live like dog
- Bounty Killa in Look

An engendered and cultivated polarization, complete with a still unapologetic national patron, continues to plague our dear Guyana. Decent-minded folk, in increasing numbers, as we have seen in this past decade, can hardly bear anymore. They have made up their minds that no longer will the dog life be one with which they will contend. We see the evidence on the front pages and the nightly newscasts almost daily and we pretend that it is not a screaming affirmation of what is the country’s foremost epidemic.

Hopelessness. That is their curse. And poor people fed up of it. Look into dem eyes. Digest what you see. There is anger. And desperation. We, as a nation have ostracized them, discriminated against them, marginalized them and in the words of those who have spoken to this issue, committed economic genocide upon them.

There are those who believed that the deaths of Fineman and Skinny marked the end when it was but a momentary appeasement. We sit back as worse Finemans and Skinnys build hatred in their hearts and mek up dem mind to end up in the morgue because the dog life nah mek it.

Jamzone, Junior Gong and Sonu Nigam do enough to distract us still from this administered injustice. Be certain though that the dividends, even more catastrophic as they will be, will slam us in the face and knock us over. It will happen before long.

We do not give the seriousness of attention to the widening socio-economic rebellion in the land. And neither is it newly arrived nor in its infancy. The germination process is well advanced. We are in the forenoon of the flowering stage. The governors seem to think that their sporadic responses provide a finite solution when they are but intermittent abatements.

The national response has been to grow the fences taller and the grills and barbed wires thicker. Firearms for aggression and defence litter the coastland. We reap death and despair. The soul of the nation is comatose.

And we move on to the next day’s headlines of more of the same. No deeper examination is contemplated or pursued. We, the people, guilty. Guilty of a palpable and flagrant and perhaps even deliberate and convenient lack of understanding and compassion for the circumstances of too many of our brothers.

We dismiss them in flippant questions.

“Why dem don’t go and look wuk?”
“Is lazy dem lazy so?”

The culture of indifference and avariciousness is safe from depreciation.

It has become easy enough for us to diminish their tribulations with unthinking contempt.

“They need to create opportunities for themselves” as if creating economic opportunities is like picking mangoes.

“They are not working hard enough” as if there is work for them to work harder at.

Our list of retorts knows no end and we behave as though they chose to be born into this hopelessness.

As you live your good life, in your lavishly appointed home, remember this:

Well I’ve made up my mind to end up in the morgue
Right now I’d rather die, cause man a live like dog

If you even pretend to care, force yourself to imagine their circumstances.

Theirs is a cramped shack crammed up against other shacks in places you know well enough. The conditions in which they try to sleep, you would not approve for your yard dog. The filthy air fetches the cries of malnourished babies in the arms of stressed out mothers. Bellies everywhere there are hungry. And the pots are empty. Hopelessness is an ever faithful companion of theirs.

In necessity they have gone out and begged and pleaded for a lil wuk, ketchin deh hand here or there. A small piece is their reward. Crumbs cannot do for one, it must stretch for an extended family. We are a nation failing to provide opportunity and food for our people. They are rejected and demeaned by the system. Others are welcomed and catered to. Opportunities exist but for who? And only who?

Yet those that preside build roads and white elephant sugar factories and leave our brethren with no option but breaching laws and invading other people’s spaces to fund food.

It is worse than an indictment, it is a travesty.

Bug-eyed, I scratch my head as I happen upon this: “Crimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, “are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority.”

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December 21, 2011 · 3:53 pm

Grillwork and leadership – a nation imprisoned

Travel around coastland Guyana and you will see it too – a preponderance of cages. Imprisonment of people – their bodies and minds.

I see burglar bars, grillwork, heavily armed company security forces, reinforced doors, guard huts, watchmen, security lights, CCTV cameras, reinforced steel shutters, barbed wires, broken bottle topped fences. Crime and insecurity make for big business these days.

Such is this national scourge that people in Guyana are now chaining down their flowering plant pots, garbage bins and even, as I saw in one yard in Georgetown, their clothes lines. Street signs which are bolted down or have their concreted bases buried in feet of earth are not safe.

In Guyana it is unthinkable for anyone to build a house on the coastland and not have grillwork on every window and door as a necessary prominent feature. It has become as basic as a toilet.

It is a certain form of imprisonment, not only of the body but of the mind. At nights not only is the nation locking out whatever elements may wish to intrude but it is also locking down itself against whatever dangers may lurk unforeseen inside. Fire being the most prominent one.

I remember the circumstances which led to the death of Guyanese cultural icon Lakshmi Kallicharan whenever I think of grillwork and my heart bleeds. Lest we forget, her Georgetown house became engulfed in fire one night and she was burnt alive at her grill door because she could not get to the keys to open the padlocks to get out. Some dismiss her death to unfortunate circumstances, I hold the leadership of our country accountable. What are the real reasons why Lakshmi had to live in a cage?

It is true that as Lakshmi did, the people are making practical decisions. They are voluntarily imprisoning themselves and their families out of what they deem to be necessity. One can’t blame them for taking action to protect themselves because the state has failed in its mandate to protect them.

But it ought not to be.

People often think only of what is on the surface. What would cause a man to plot and orchestrate to leave his home (if he has one) in the dead of night to go to the dwelling of another, risk his life and limb and break into it to get what he can? No one can convince me that this is what those thieves wantto do. For the vast majority it is what they are forced to do by circumstances. They keep at it out of necessity because they must and because they do not get caught.

Why is this so prevalent?

There is desperation. There will always be criminal elements of various kinds. But why, in Guyana, is there a criminal culture? Why is it a way of life, not for a handful, but for such a large segment of the population? Why is Lot 12 Camp Street overcrowded with break and enter thieves?

It has become a nationwide disease. It is not a Police Force problem or a Ministry of Home Affairs problem, it is a national problem. Such is its widespread effect that it requires the focussed attention from the head of central government.

It is not, as it used to be, a blackman perpetrated crime. Coolie men are in it now more than ever, perhaps as much as blackmen are. We see the names and photographs of the ones who are caught from time to time, we see skinny coolie boys just out of high school in hand cuffs being herded to the docks.

There are no jobs for thousands, for thousands of others there are only demeaning jobs cleaning drains, garbage bins, gutters, alleyways and toilets for scraps which cannot do for a decent week’s living for one let alone a family.

Men, in these sorts of numbers, in the first instance turn to this sort of crime not because they are inherently bad or lazy but because it is their last resort at feeding themselves and those who are dependent upon them. After repeat successes they may become career criminals but there must be an examination of why they made that initial decision to get into banditry and larceny.

The grillwork imprisons our bodies at nights but it also seems to be imprisoning our minds from understanding the fullness of the situation.

The grillwork is as a result of the prevalence of crime. The prevalence of crime is as a result of desperation. Desperation is as a result of hopelessness. Hopelessness is as a result of a lack of opportunity. Lack of opportunity is as a result of discrimination and the absence of real development for all across the board.

More than the immediate threat of bandits, to me, grillwork is another constant in-your-face reminder of the dreadful management of our country at the very highest levels.

Grillwork is an unmistakable statement by the people – coolie people, black people, all people – that they do not trust government and politicians, that they have no confidence in their performance, management and capacity. Grillwork is an indictment on our leaders.

Grillwork does not have to be, but it is because the leadership is failing the people. That is the legacy of national leadership in Guyana – a nation caged without any confidence in those who a flawed electoral system allows to lead, guide, serve and protect.

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· 3:51 pm

The curious case of Aubrey Norton

It is true that PNC political bull dog Aubrey Norton has not been prominent, nay, missing, from the APNU platform. One wondered about his presence and role.

I noticed him, for the first time, after the elections, when media reports put him as having surfaced in front of the Providence Police Station to the aid of some stranded Lindeners.

As it turns out he played a prominent role in delivering Linden and the wider Region 10 to APNU in a manner that still has the PPP and the AFC licking their open wounds.

And now he is not in Parliament.

But Africo Selman is. So too are a host of others who are unknown to the wider Guyanese public. Previously I had never heard of any of Richard Allen, John Adams, Jaipaul Sharma, Jennifer Wade, Dawn Hastings, Rennis Morian or Annette Ferguson.

I know of Selman only because I had seen video footage on NCN of a very poor presentation she made in the National Assembly and had cause to enquire who she was only to be told that she is so and so’s “lil girlfriend”.

I know of Joan Beveghems only because I saw a news report that she was shot with a rubber pellet during the protests. I was shocked to learn that she was a Member of Parliament. I had never heard or seen her name before, neither did she make any impression with the electorate during whatever time she served. I trust that her qualifications for being an MP go beyond being shot in the leg by a rubber pellet.

I know of Vanessa Kissoon through personal relations. James Bond and I know each other since our time at the University of Guyana and he, perhaps more than anyone else has earned, through strategic thinking and action, his place as an APNU Member of Parliament.

I know of Christopher Jones.

Volda Lawrence, Basil Williams, Sydney Allicock, Amna Ally, Ronald Bulkan, Dr. George Norton, Joseph Harmon, Desmond Trotman, Keith Scott and Winston Felix are all known to the mess.

Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates David Granger and Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine and Carl Greenidge round off the list.

I struggle to think of a PNC MP who would have made more robust contributions of quality and substance ahead of Robert Corbin, Winston Murray and Aubrey Norton.

Corbin is not returning to Parliament and Murray is dead. How could Norton be off the list?

This development speaks a thousand words to me.

Most worryingly it signals that the PNC/APNU is still playing the politics of spite and vengeance. At a time when the nation is longing for a deliverance from this politics of old the PNC/APNU is digging in its heels.

By this act of what is nothing short of personal political persecution the PNC/APNU has ostracized legions of right thinking Guyanese who might have been leaning or wanting to lean in their direction.

It also tells me that the PNC/APNU list was not constructed entirely on the basis of merit.  By meritorious placement Aubrey Norton, on any scorecard, must rank highly.

Further in what will be a brutal National Assembly where every contribution counts substantially how can seven political unknowns and somebody’s lil girlfriend leap frog Norton?

That is injustice of the most barefaced brand.

Norton is no one’s favourite politician. He is rough and gruff, has a penchant for acrimony, his checkered shirts and over-sized jackets make him look clumsy and he is ruthless. The members on the government side will be relieved to see him absent. He kept them honest by holding them accountable.

At a time when the opposition has the constitutional power to best utilize a dedicated and fearless Parliamentary powerhouse as Norton, PNC/APNU allows him to be victimized.

APNU campaigned on inclusive governance but now when they are put to a minor but instructive litmus test they cannot include one of their own who is deserving but with whom they have some operational differences. How can the people trust them to include, if they were to ever form the government, those with whom they are philosphically separated by thousands of miles?

Moreover the PNC/APNU does not understand, it would seem, that outside of its support base people do not trust them. APNU did make inroads on building the levels of trust. They began the work in chipping away at the mistrust people harbour and win the quiet confidence of the wider society. There have been some mis-steps and setbacks.

Now in one fell swoop, the heavy hand of Corbin in causing this Norton Scandal has railroaded the process. Who will argue against the PPP bottomhouse campaign which will appeal to the people with “look yuh see, dem is de same ting like we, so why yuh gon change we fuh put dem?”?

Finally, what the Norton Scandal illustrates is that Granger, now that the campaign is done and dusted, has his limitations in reach and influence. He is not truly the man in charge. He held this illusion up until November 28th. Thereafter we have seen slippage and a truer picture of who is really in charge.

So on the one hand we have a President who is being directed and puppeted by the Puppeteer-in-Chief. And on the other side the old Palm Tree boss is running the show with a tight fist. And so the nation, despite the reluctance of the people who have delivered the most historic elections results ever, drifts back to square one.

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December 17, 2011 · 3:38 pm

A story of racism in Galabana

Warning: While no broolies, clarks, Crishtuns, Fruslims or Hirdus were physically harmed in documenting this story there is a risk of psychological unease ensuing hereafter.

The nation of Galabana is located somewhere on Earth,western hemisphere, south of the equator. It is dominated by two races – the broolies and clarks – who are politically polarized. There are also several religions but three are prominent – Crishtunanity, Lislam and Hirduism.

The people of Galabana seem to be happy to pretend that Galabana does not really have a genuine problem of race. Galabanese seem to want it represented that the ‘race problem’ is just a minor issue which is being exaggerated by certain elements. The Galabanese have heard it said and seen it written numerous times over. Galabana doesn’t have a race problem per se. And then there are various explanations about what problems the Galabanese really have which seem or appear to be race problems but they really are not race problems.

Galabanese politicians speak of how their parties are truly multiracial and how the Galabanese people are united as a nation. At elections time they concoct artificial imageries of unity and togetherness and bombard the nation. Galabanese politicians chant One Love and flaunt symbols of unity. Then they return to the divisive ways of old.

A writer can find eloquent language in an attempt to dispel this notion. A writer must allow the most eloquent of words suffice.

It’s all bullshit.

The experience of one Galabanese is different. So too are the experiences of thousands of other Galabanese.

This Galabanese, wid his broolie looking self (though he is not really a broolie as his mom is broolie and his father clark) walk on the road with his clark fiancée and people say, to their faces and behind their backs, how ‘nice’ they look. Some don’t say anything, they just look that kind of look that makes it difficult to mask their thoughts. It’s not uncommon. They’ve become used to it.

There are more of their type these days and there is greater acceptance but it still feels, to them, very much like a novelty. There are still broolies who believe that he has disgraced the broolie race by being with a clark woman. There are still clarks who find it abominable that she is with a broolie (looking) man.

And then they are liked as a couple by others, in part because people, broolie people and clark people, see them as the couple that they wish more people would be like but that they themselves could not be like.

The broolie fella grew up in a typically broolie home with his broolie grandparents. His grandmother and grandfather were poles apart in their orientation towards race.

His grandmother was a racist. It is not acceptable to say to some Galabanese but she, in her own mind, may have thought that she had reason to be racist.

She suffered some sort of race-based discrimination in the mid 1960s when there were intense race problems in the then Britush Galabana. She never spoke of it.

In the early 1990s, a month after her life partner, the broolie fella’s grandfather, died, four clark bandits broke into their home in the dead of night and beat the grandmother mercilessly.

Some years later, when the young fella was still a Fruslim (the follower of Lislam), a clark brother joined Lislam and after evening prayers told him how hungry he was and that there was nothing at home to eat. Without hesitation and knowing that they had food at home the young broolie fella invited the clark brother for dinner. He went over, the broolie served him dinner. They ate. He left.

After the clark brother left the young broolie fella received a scolding from his racist grandmother about bringing home a clark man to eat her food, in her plate, at her table, in her house.

Years later the broolie fella had a clark girlfriend when he had just started the University of Galabana and took her home. His grandmother cursed incessantly about her presence while she was still there. Embarrassment is not the word to describe his racist grandmother’s behaviour.

Now the broolie fella has been in a relationship with his fiancée for over ten years. His grandmother went to her grave never having met his fiancée.

These are his experiences. He has observed countless other racist incidents, on both sides, in private and public in Galabana. He has heard the talk of racism within the ranks of broolies more than he has heard in the ranks of clarks. He believes that more broolies are racist in Galabana than are clarks. He believes so based on his experiences and observations. He also believes that there is a growing number of enlightened Galabanese who believe that the colour of one’s skin should have no bearing on how they treat and relate to each other.

Anyone who articulates the view that there is no real race problem in Galabana cannot be expected to be taken seriously by this broolie looking fella . They do not live in the same Galabana as he does. Or they are being untruthful.

This is not a story of hearsay or conjecture; his is a story of reality. Lived reality.

And so he believes that until, as a nation, the Galabanese confront, head on, and without that convenient veil of denial, the percolating issues of race which are prevalent in Galabana, the nation will remain stunted as it has been since its independence from the Britush Empire.

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December 16, 2011 · 3:32 pm

Guyanese hero: Samuel Stewart

Folks I’ve been blessed to meet thousands of people in my life. I have met people from all across the globe, of all financial and social standings, numerous religious persuasions, people of countless political convictions, royalty, power brokers, celebrities, good people, people of ill repute. Today I met Samuel Stewart. I can say, unequivocally, that you could not hope to meet a nicer, more genuine, caring, humble, hard working and determined person in your life.

I had known of Samuel before having seen him selling various items around Georgetown, the West Demerara and East Bank Essequibo.

Samuel’s foster parents died and he had to fend for himself as of age 13. Gino Persaud has been helping him along the way for a long time now. Today was a memorable day for Samuel. Following Gino’s posts on his own FB wall and in the RAISE Guyana group there was an outpouring of support and pledges for Samuel.

Samuel, Gino and I had lunch and it was then that I properly met Samuel. He spoke of his loving wife of three years and his son Isaiah who turns one tomorrow. He spoke of his challenges in life but never dwelled on them. He never once made it sound as though he was mentioning them to seek pity or sympathy. He spoke of his will to never give up and holding firm to the strong values instilled in him by his foster parents before they passed.

Samuel is intelligent, hardworking, industrious and unrelenting in his desire to make a better life for himself and his family.

Sadly in addition to the many, many obstacles which he has had to overcome and which Gino and I have mentioned in previous posts Samuel is also battling a vision problem. His albinism has caused complications with his sight. He cannot see well at distance and struggles to see properly to read. What was stunning to me was that throughout the afternoon it seemed as though all Samuel was keen on talking about was his desire to study. He is desperate to pursue studies despite his vision challenges. I know of persons who have none of the difficulties that Samuel has who have no desire to study and educate and uplift themselves.

Samuel is ambitious and he has drive. I admire him. He has quickly become an inspiration to me and a hero in my book. He wants to become a successful businessman and a social worker. He enjoys the simple life and that is why he now lives at Parika where he, along with his wife, do some of their business. And by business I mean sell DVDs.

Without complaint he walks long distances in hot sun, in rain some days and sells to make money to feed his family. While we know of complaints from vendors in Georgetown when they are asked to remove from the sidewalks etc, Samuel does not complain, and he did not confine himself to Regent Street or Georgetown. He explored new areas and saved and went as far as Port Kaituma where he travelled to by ferry and where he says he has been able to do fair business.

A kind friend of Gino’s made a substantial no interest loan to Samuel which Samuel will use to buy stocks tomorrow to resell and make some money so that his family can enjoy a decent Christmas.

It was heartening to see the outpouring of care and cash for Samuel this afternoon. Samuel, Gino and I went around Georgetown collecting funds for Samuel to help pay off the balance for his houselot. Gino facilitated the opening of a bank account for him at NBS and some of the monies collected were deposited into the account.

So many people gave from substantial to meaningful contributions. Not a single one was below $10,000. I wish I could mention names but to a person they did not want their names mentioned. Gino will give a full report of how much was collected in total and what the balance is to meet the $250,000 to pay off for the house lot.

Not that there was any doubt, Guyanese are a caring people, sometimes too caring and to a fault but today so many of us stood up and reaffirmed that status. Amidst all the problems and political issues we have we are still people who have a goodness in our hearts.

And that goodness was shared with Samuel Stewart today. I am proud to be Guyanese and to be an acquaintance of,  a friend to and just know some of the people who demonstrated real humanity, brotherhood and love today. It was a moving and emotional afternoon.

I salute Samuel for his heroic life. So many others in his shoes would have given up, would have lost pride, would have slipped into mendicancy. Not Samuel Stewart. Times are hard, it is not easy to make a dollar in Guyana. Samuel conquered the odds but he needs help. He has fought bravely and unrelentingly to live a decent life by dint of hard work. I salute too, Gino who has for years stood quietly by Samuel and been there for him and helped him along and counselled him. It is now time for us to join hands with Gino and ensure that Samuel is able to own a home of his own and make a decent life for himself and family.

You may ask why ‘Guyanese hero: Samuel Stewart’? Samuel is a hero because he has survived. He is not the only one. There are many like him out there.

I know poverty is widespread in Guyana but I can honestly think of no one who is more deserving of support than Samuel. He has not sat back and waited for help. He has been out there on the streets, working, selling and earning his keep. He deserves our support. I ask others who can to donate whatever you can to help Samuel. He does not need to do anything more for us to be proud of him but I am sure he will. He is an inspiration and he will be more of an inspiration for us all in years to come.

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December 6, 2011 · 3:26 pm

Defend your crack whore mother

Have you ever seen a beauty queen cum crack whore? Have you ever examined her skin and face? Closely?

That is what she has become. She was once the envy of the neighbourhood. Her assets, her splendour, the talk of the envious who flocked around and tried to enjoy her bounties.

Then, as my grandmother might have said, she started to go round wid bad company. And she started to lose her sheen and suppleness. She began to look haggard and the people in the neighbourhood started to pity her. The neighbourhood people did not flock anymore and her children started to hold hands with them as they walked away.

Her skin and her face became worn, tired, beaten.

She wandered and wandered but then she distanced herself from the company she kept and picked up with new company. An improved future beckoned. A clean life she had for a spell.

But she was deceived. She left a brothel bully and for a few years found herself in the arms of a caring trier. And then the trier passed and she ended up with his bastard successors who turned out to be street-corner gangsters. They pimped and raped her til she was left sprawled half dead.

Her children stood and watched and murmured in her defence a little but took no action to free her of her torture and misery. Her blood stained the gangsters hands but her blood also drips from her children’s hands. They stood and watched and watched. Their mother, tortured, brutalized, raped, violated, dehumanized. They stood in silence, thinking that their excuse is that she is a crack whore who deserves no better.

But every crack whore has a past and every crack whore has a future. I have seen crack whores who have found redemption; they may not reclaim past glories but they live a life of decency, respectability and contentment. They have replenished their skin and their face glowed again. Examine closely. The scars never disappear, but they fade and her beauty shines through.

Crack whores need a helping hand. Their children who stand by in silence need to act, liberate her from her oppressors.

I hope your children act as you lay sprawled, half dead, for every country has a past and every country has a future.

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