Dear Editor,
The Jubilee celebration commemorating our 50th anniversary held in New York City (NYC) was marred by a lack of inclusiveness which ought to be highlighted and addressed if we are to move our country forward.
Such a problem handicapped the nine-day celebratory event. Even a Mashramani style parade dubbed the “unity parade” which marked the conclusion of the celebration two Sundays ago turned out to be schismatic.
Indeed, a mere lack of inclusiveness at symposiums held as part of the celebration precludes answers to questions raised under the theme “Guyana at 50: “Who are we? What has been our journey? And what can we further become?” It is absolutely unrealistic to expect answers to such questions in the absence of our diverse people. Organisers must take responsibility.
They have suppressed diversity by being narrow-minded and by conflating politics with a historic celebration, spawning only an inhospitable atmosphere. Undoubtedly, this is a throwback to the Burnham days which is sad and unfortunate for our country.
Members of the Diaspora who were not backers of the APNU/PNC/AFC coalition were largely kept in the dark about this event. I became aware of it when I stumbled upon a Facebook post originating from a coalition supporter. To make a long story short, I browsed the Internet to learn more and I eventually ran into a website showcasing the event.
I immediately discovered a severe lack of inclusiveness among organisers. This was an instant turnoff, particularly since we are multiethnic. Afro-Guyanese were overly represented with just a sprinkle of Indo-Guyanese. My discovery shed light on the troubling fact that the event was organised by a racially and a politically closed group of people.
Organisers could have easily informed members of the Diaspora about the celebration if they had wanted. There were plenty of options available, including Facebook as a potent and costless medium.
However, organisers were hell-bent on shutting out a significant part of the population. The organisers could have only traversed one path to achieve near racial homogeneity – a path of discrimination. This is inexcusable, destructive and should never be tolerated. Every Guyanese needs to be vociferous on such dysfunction.
Even more appalling is the realisation that organisers largely reside in the USA and are people who have benefitted from American values which support and encourage diversity. Can the organisers be more hypocritical?
Overwhelming discrimination at the Jubilee celebration is not an isolated problem. In fact, it mirrors the rampant and widespread discrimination which has picked up steam under the coalition Government.
Indo-Guyanese are no doubt going through a rough time under the coalition Government. They are largely pushed out of the work force through discriminatory practices to the point that the workforce is heavily skewed in favour of the coalition supporters.
Such levels of discrimination have caused great suffering among Indo-Guyanese. Many Indo-Guyanese acting out of desperation trudge through streets wheeling pushcarts selling anything and everything to barely scrape a livelihood. Yet, they still face discrimination as if they are not suffering enough. Life in Guyana is much too painful to witness! Government needs to correct the racial disequilibrium in the workforce by phasing in Indo-Guyanese and others.
This is feasible and can be accomplished without hurting a single human being. Racial equilibration in the workforce will infuse growth into the “pie” and will make it bigger for the benefit of all Guyanese. Government needs to act now.
I am highly concerned by the widespread discrimination, particularly among those managing our welfare. We must realise that discrimination induces a wide range of effects, but none of them good: it strips human dignity, it creates rancour and it divides people. In short, discrimination is destructive.
We need to understand this and move away from such unconstructive practices and vest our energy in diversity. Diversity is our strength. We must take advantage of it to rise above poverty as a nation. This means that we must engage all. And last, but not least, we must etch into our brains that “no man is an island”.
Sincerely,
Dr Annie Baliram
