The ethnic and racial division does not tangibly benefit most of us

As I pen this letter, I write with complete dismay about the divisive space in which we find ourselves as a nation. As a people there is such great division that we seem incapable of true unity and making decisions in the best interest of all Guyanese. We have become so steeped in perceptions of who we are individually and collectively that truth has become too difficult to accept. Many of us are so caught up in perceptions and misinterpretations of each other that we consciously and unconsciously perpetuate untruths. We respond and react to circumstances from a space of ignorance. The reality is that most of us Guyanese have more in common than we may want to accept. Our similarities outweigh our differences but as typical humans we oftentimes spend more time highlighting the negatives and pay little to no attention to those things that bring us together as a people. If we are to move forward peacefully where most of us are content that we all have an equal stake in this space, we call the Cooperative Republic of Guyana then we have to do more. As a people we have some profoundly serious decisions to make if we are genuinely interested in and committed to a Guyana where we all feel equally apart. The reality is that over 70% of our population consist of working-class Guyanese of all ethnicities waking up daily to implement new and ingenious ways of making ends meet so that we can provide for our families. Most of our time is spent ensuring that our children have food to eat and clothes to wear, resources are available to get an education, the lights stay on (once GPL permits) and we have a roof over our heads when it is time to sleep at night.

That is where most of us find ourselves.

The ethnic and racial division truthfully does not tangibly benefit most of us. Most of us who want to abide by the rules and norms that govern our society find ourselves zoning out from the politics of our country because it all seems so convoluted and lacking certainty. For those of us who take politics seriously it is all well and good to be happy about who is in power, but the reality is that if this ethnic divide only benefits a few what exactly do we have to gain by maintaining these false perceptions of each other.