In the last day, many have commented on the relative absence of our Guyanese (East Indian) brothers and sisters from the public ritual of transitioning from the old government to the new.
My observation to all of us who seem sensitive to this is as follows.
We have to be bigger, we have to be encouraging, we have to invite all our Guyanese brothers and sisters who are now reluctant to join us in Unity to do so since it is to our benefit all of us.
There is no individual group which can do well on its own, at the exclusion of others, and the whole country suffers when we do this as is evidenced in our recent experience.
I don’t think that many of us realize how powerful and effective the intimate bottom house meetings have been in spreading the message of East Indian exceptionalism in Guyana, and by extension, distrust, fear, suspicion, dislike and even hate for the Other in our society.
All Guyanese have been traumatised by events in our recent history, before we became independent, and after. Most of us have taken our punches, wobbled, and then have moved on, learning from the experience and being stronger for it.
However, some of us are still to get to that point. For our own good, we must make the effort to overcome our fears, our apprehensions, our reluctance to engage in the rebuilding of our country.
We are all important to this necessary, grand, national project.
Our Guyanese (East Indian) brothers and sisters have to be proactively assured that all will be well with them. Their ancestors came here more than a century ago and helped to build the country to where it is today, adding to the efforts that were made by others who were here for millennia, in the case of our indigenous peoples, and our Guyanese (African) compatriots who have been here for at least four centuries, and the Portuguese and Chinese who have also contributed significantly over time.
We are all Guyanese now. Dr. Jagan and Mr. Burnham led us to this understanding when they fought for and won Independence for us 49 years ago. They did not fight to free some of us. They did so for all , ALL GUYANESE.
As is the case for other Guyanese, East Indians have nothing to fear as far as their security is concerned, be it physical, political,economic, social, or cultural.
The detaining and questioning of a retired police officer suspected of being involved in the murder of a Guyanese East Indian is for me evidence that no stone will be left unturned by President David Granger to restore Law and Order to Guyana, and to ensure that all who seek justice will find it.
Our Guyanese (East Indian) brothers and sisters have nothing to fear.
Nothing.
