Some Guyanese commonalities with Manchester City

Dear Editor,

Terrorists affiliated with ISIS and other radical groups have been targeting mass congregations in Western cities like Manchester, massacring unarmed civilians, children included. 

Peoples’ lives are being cut down, even at a tender age. Although we are not directly affected by terror, Guyanese should stand in solidarity with Manchester in the United Kingdom. Although far away in location, Manchester is important and closer to Guyanese than we think.

There is a somewhat direct connection with Manchester for Guyanese and other West Indian people. Several Guyanese have studied or are studying in Manchester. Some Guyanese and their siblings are settled in Manchester. Cricket is very popular in Manchester, and Guyanese cricketers played there in county cricket and international competitions. Shivnarine Chanderpal is attached to Lancashire, which is not far from Manchester, where he also played along with Clive Lloyd and others.

In school, we studied the Industrial Revolution which began in Manchester. Raw materials from Guyana ended up in Manchester for factories and for the industrial revolution; our sugar, rice, and lumber also end up in Manchester. Many Guyanese visit Manchester, a fantastic city, as tourists. History books note that “the first steam-powered cotton mill opened there in 1781”, and it has had a profound effect on shipping from or to Guyana – products and people (slaves, indentured labourers, etc).

Manchester was the home of radical thought which define the ideology of dominant political parties in Guyana. The concept of the working class, which is popularly used among trade unionists and parties in Guyana, came from Manchester. The idea of a Trade Union Congress, which we have in Guyana, was copied from the UK and came from Manchester. In university, political science and economics students are mandated to study history of the working class. The Suffragette Movement also was founded in Manchester, and is compulsory study in classes in all social science disciplines.

Marxism and left wing ideology had a notable presence in Manchester. Marx and others who studied the working class (and of constructing a better society) had Manchester in mind when they wrote about class or a classless society. Marx himself spent time in Manchester, where he met Friedrich Engels. They collaborated on writing the Communist Manifesto, which is compulsory reading for students of history, economics, political science and sociology. Marx read economics books at a library in Manchester. Marxists make reference to Manchester in their writings, especially in critiques on industrial development and exploitation of the working class. The British Labour Party had a foundation in Manchester, and from that place many principles so important to so many left wing parties were founded, including our own PPP. So we have inherited a lot from, or have several commonalities with, Manchester. And we should stand in solidarity as they come to grips with a terror attack.

As security analysts note, terror attacks appear unstoppable, as one city after another is brutally targeted with improvised bombs to hurt the maximum number of people. Concerts and sports activities are targeted. ISIS is hoping their terror will trigger ethnic wars within the West (between Muslims and Christians) and between the West and Islamic countries. This must not be allowed. Prime Minister Theresa May said after the attack that the spirit of tolerance in Britain will continue.We all have a part to play, and we must join authorities everywhere to stop the planners and organisers of this radical violence.

Yours truly,

Vishnu Bisram