Indo Caribbean World

 

May 26 should be redesignated in the Guyanese calendar

Dear Editor:
Rudy Lochan’s letter (Memories associated with Guyana's Independence, ICW May 25/05) about the Wismar rape and massacre of Indo-Guyanese on May 24-26, 1964 and the Burnham-PNC’s choice of the date, May 26, for Guyana’s independence, indeed, brought back many bitter memories. How we forget these significant atrocities and the Burnham-PNC’s machinations and their salt-in-wound date alignment, as time passes and once we are removed from the location!
Mrs. Jagan resigned as Home Affairs minister following the said massacre because the Commissioner of Police and British troops’ commander in Guyana failed to heed her warnings of the imminent pogrom on Indians and to send neutral British troops.
The fact that Wismar-type atrocities continue today, mainly along the East Coast of Demerara under a PPP government, is a sad reflection on the effectiveness of the current administration.
What can Indians expect if there is a change in administration?
Look at T&T where another form of predatory ethnic cleansing is taking place.
So, structural changes are required in the Guyana security forces to avoid escalation. In other parts of the world, some of these corrections are called “affirmative action”.
Another critical affirmative step that the PPP administration needs to take is to expunge the May 26 genocidal date from the Guyana Constitution and, with time, from the minds of Guyanese as Guyana’s Independence Day. The PPP should forthwith promulgate a Bill to change the de jure independence date to another date. If PNC resistance subverts the needed 66%, the government can always declare the alternative de facto date on which actual commemorations are held.
Finally, the May 26 date should be set aside as a grievous Remembrance Day to recognize the Indo-Guyanese children, women and men who suffered simply for their ethnicity. This should also help serve as a deterrent to the continual current Wismar-like atrocities on Indo-Guyanese.
Veda Nath Mohabir, Toronto

Decision to return to Guyana up in the air

Dear Editor: I am a Guyanese studying overseas and have been following the news in Guyana recently. Everyday I ask myself if I am going to return to Guyana or not. If and when I graduate I will decide.

I never dreamt that Guyana would have become the war zone it is today. It is beyond my comprehension what is happening.

When I left Guyana on the 1st of April last year everything was relatively normal. I never thought that I would read of killings of people who I dwelt with.

I have a question for all Guyanese - are we going to sit and let politicians guide us into the fire of destruction? Or are we going stand up and do something?

We have an opposition party whose main aim seems to be to wreak havoc in our country and a government which does not seem to be able to function. Plus criminals, who some people now see as heroes. Man, Guyanese make the wild west seem calm. Buxton has become the haven for criminals. What are the police and soldiers doing?

When Indo-Guyanese are targeted on the streets and in their homes, there are certain sectors of the population that remain quiet. But when an Afro-Guyanese gets killed there are protests and mayhem all around. I thought we were all Guyanese.

Remember one thing fellow Guyanese, the world is round and when you stand for injustice it will be your downfall.

To all, just put the politicians aside and think. Do you want a war zone or do you want peace? God help us all, for we seem unable to lead or follow or to decide what we want. Power is with the people and not the government. Every Guyanese can make a change.

Dalchand Lakhan

 

 

Guyanese Canadians should promote themselves

Dear Editor: Until about twenty-five years ago, I had no inkling where Guyana was. After a few months I found out that the new "Pakistanis" on our quiet Etobicoke Street were from a place called Guyana. The new folks on that street still remain close friends to this day; I bonded very well with their children in school and beyond. And I developed an insatiable appetite for Roti and Curry and many things Guyanese, and West Indian.

I know well, the achievements of Guyanese Canadians and of their splendid ethnic backgrounds, and I know very equally well why so many have fled the land of their birth. But I am alarmed as to why these Canadians continue to fail to promote themselves in this great land. I wager that many, if not most Canadians, know about Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados. But Guyana?

Charles Hutchinson, Toronto