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The story of the Wismar Massacre is well annotated by the Report of the Wismar, Christianburg and Mackenzie Commission which was established by the British colonial Government and published on January 25, 1965 (http://www.guyana.org/features/wismar_report.html).
The Report states: “We have come to the conclusion 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.”
The plot started to take shape on Wednesday, May 20, 1964 when the home of Pandit Ramlackhan was bombed. There was a strike at Demba on Thursday, and on Friday, May 22nd, Daniel Persaud’s house was set on fire and there was an explosion at Ibrahim Khan’s home. Three people were injured in that blast.
The arson escalated on Saturday, May 23rd and Sunday, May 24th, and the Report states: “Between 7 and 8 o’clock on the morning of May 25th, the situation deteriorated rapidly. There was widespread violence, arson and looting. The stage was set for a day of unmitigated tragedy. At about 8.00 a.m. it was rumoured that an East Indian man had kicked an African boy. The Police subsequently investigated this but found it to be untrue. If any was needed, this was the casus belli….
“The majority of the Africans laughed and jeered at the East Indians as, blood stained and battered, raped and naked, shocked and destitute, they helplessly went their way to the only place of refuge, the Wismar Police Station. African women played their part in these events to the fullest extent.
“Your Commissioners are convinced that ‘this was a diabolical plot, ingeniously planned and ruthlessly executed.’ ….
“On the day of the disturbances at Wismar-Christianburg, there were 57 cases of assault, including rape. Two persons were killed, and at least 197 houses were destroyed in addition to several cases of looting.
“On the 26th May, the R.H. Carr and the M.V. Barima were made available for the transportation of evacuees to Georgetown; some went by air. The presence of African policemen and volunteers at the point of disembarkation in Georgetown caused some fear on the part of the evacuees, which was only assuaged when assurances were given by officials of the B.G. Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha ….
“The advent of the British troops and the imposition of a curfew helped to restore order out of chaos, but as darkness fell, fires could still be seen in the area. Sporadic attacks on Indian life and property continued, however. On the 26th May, Isaac Bridgewater, the father of Senator Christina Ramjattan, was murdered and his place burnt. Arson took place on the Mackenzie side on the 27th May, 1964, and on the 2nd June, 1964, when Indian houses at Cara Cara were burnt. Toolsie Persaud’s gasoline installation at Section C, Christianburg was destroyed on the 25th July, 1964….
“On the 6th July, 1964, an explosion occurred at Booradia on a launch named “Sun Chapman”, which was taking goods and passengers, the majority of them Africans, from Georgetown to Wismar. About thirty-eight (38) persons perished in this disaster. The echo of the Sun Chapman disaster was immediately felt at Mackenzie when five East Indians were murdered and seven seriously injured. Before the official report of the Sun Chapman tragedy reached the Police and British army, Africans were on the rampage; and in the space of two hours — 5.00 to 7.00 p.m. — more people were killed than on the whole day of the 25th May, 1964.”
When the PNC commemorate the Sun Chapman explosion each year, they mourn their dead without any reference to the five Indian Guyanese who were murdered in the rampage that followed. Though the implication is that the explosion was PPP retaliation for the Wismar Massacre, police investigations found no evidence of this.
In “The West on Trial”, Cheddi Jagan wrote about his objections to the May 26th date being chosen by Prime Minister Forbes Burnham for Guyana’s independence. He felt it was insensitive and unconscionable. Burnham, of course, had no such compunctions. President Cheddi Jagan omitted the date from the national calendar of holidays during his time in office, but it was reinstated by a subsequent PPP/C Administration.
If it is to be a national holiday, May 26th can stand as a day of remembrance only for the victims and survivors of the Wismar Massacre — lest we forget this instance of Man’s gravest inhumanity to Man that was visited on our country.
