The major hindrance to unity is unwillingness of race groups to accept need for adjustments in historical advantages they achieved
Dear Editor,
This is the second occasion I am penning a response to the ongoing polemics between Ravi Dev and Vincent Alexander. In the previous letter I stated that I am following this debate with keen interest. My reason for doing so is that I assume that both gentlemen, in having this discourse, are seeking to make a positive contribution to fostering political and racial harmony and economic and social justice in the country. And not for self-aggrandisement as is the case of some columnists and letter writers, which unfortunately has now become the norm in our newspapers.
I refer to Ravi Dev’s letter published in Stabroek News’ October 28 2020 edition: captioned `We have to craft a common narrative that infuses a Civic Guyanese nationalism to deliver justice and equity’.
While no Guyanese in their right mind will publicly deny this truth, many citizens and organisations do not embrace this goal. Dev’s call for a common narrative is not new since such calls predate our winning of independence. Its relevance at present is however in no way diminished by this fact, given the prevailing challenges facing the nation. I will contend as a people we have had moments of a common narrative, (1) we agree that we are victims of colonial exploitation and oppression; and ( 2) that Guyana belongs to all Guyanese. The problem is that in nationbuilding our common narrative more often than not has been merely about slogans rather than conscious conviction. We have not been thought to develop a profound understanding of the contradictions that are inherent in our colonial and post-colonial experiences, neither in the school system nor elsewhere in the society.
As a cultural and political activist, I have long come to the position that unless Guyanese consciousness reaches the level of truly understanding the effects of our colonial past and its effects on our present reality this plural society will never realize its real potential. Economically, politically and socially we run the risk of disintegration as a nation. After decades in the political and cultural struggle, I have come to the view that the major hindrance to unity and progress (putting aside foreign influence and dictates) is the unwillingness of race groups to accept that there is need for adjustments in historical advantages they achieved in the colonial arrangement of the economy and the state. Each group wants to retain its advantages and seek to move forward without adjustments in the economic, political and social spheres. Our failure in this important element of nation-building makes us easy picking for foreign exploiters.
In a letter in response to Mr Baytoram Ramharack (SN October 20th 2020 ), I pointed to a presentation I made in the 1990s on the race and political challenges, which can be found in Kampta Karran’s book, “Race and Ethnicity in Guyana”. I once again return to that presentation to point out that among the recommendations I made was a call for the development of a democracy that is not simply based on “one man, one vote”. I urged that that system inherently will continue the historical exclusion of the Indigenous Peoples from meaningful political
representation. I premise my position on the fact that our Indigenous Peoples were deprived of their right to Guyana and in recognition of this they should be allowed more representation in parliament than their numbers will in the present governance system.
In closing I wish to reiterate what I said in my presentation in the 1990s that our Indigenous Peoples were the first Guyanese to consciously engage in resistance against European colonial conquest – the first Guyanese to die in defence of the country.
Yours faithfully,
Tacuma Ogunseye