I AM a regular reader of all the daily newspapers in Guyana and after reading articles in the Kaieteur News edition of August 31, 2011 under the headline: “Feud escalates among Friendship’s Farmers” and again on Sunday September 11, “Cooperatives Society has Rules”, I have decided to shed some light on this Society and will be happy for you to publish my letter.
I was once a member of this society and also a resident of Friendship before I moved to my present location.
I have no reason to disbelieve the great injustice that has been done to these poor farmers whose produce was destroyed and drainage tubes (allegedly) removed by the Chairman Philbert Blair and others.
I was once a very active farmer back in 2005 and first hand witness of the land of an Indian farmer being taken away by the same Chairman and another farmer, Lennox Batson.
His land was taken away and his produce confiscated by this same Society, forcefully.
I voiced my concern over this and was faced with the same treatment.
I am an Afro-Guyanese and do not support racial hatred. We all are one people, my land was taken away too and as the Chairman once told me if you are not with us, you are our enemy.
The Chairman was also heard preaching that no ‘coolie’ can plant in this backdam. How can we stand up and see this sort of craziness go on and how can we move forward as a nation, I asked myself?
Imagine this farmer was in the middle of land preparation on his tractor making beds to plant his produce when he was forced off his land.
Is this justice? I was also there when Mr. Philbert Blair and Mr. Lennox Batson expelled all farmers from the society who were farming in an area we called “undivided” because there were mostly Indians and, to this date, these expelled farmers continue to plant their lands separately and are not members of any farming society.
When my farm land was taken away it was because I was not around and had given Mr. Blair ‘Power of Attorney’ to transact business on my behalf.
He then used this to his advantage to take away my land too. I am not a racist. I like all my Guyanese brothers and sisters.
Mr. Charles Conway, you are talking of Rules and Regulations for all Cooperative societies of which I’m aware of, and breaking this is wrong. But can you tell me if racial hatred for Indians is in one of them? Mr. Conway, are you a farmer among these farmers? I have never heard of your name within this farming area.
All societies have to account for the entire donation given to them, so I ask, can Mr. Blair account for the following:
1. One walking tractor donated by the Partners of Americas Organisation to assist farmers in their daily task which was never put into use and was left to rot, then was eventually sold as scrap metal for a mere Gy$4,000.
2. Why is it that there are only 10 to 12 farmers left planting in this very backlands who are mostly afro Guyanese. Can he himself also show his produce? How can you be a Chairman of a farming Society and not be a producing farmer?
3. Can Mr. Blair tell the Organisation ‘Partners of Americas’ why Mr. Batson was allowed to dismantle one shade house donated by the organisation and the materials allegedly taken to his home for the purpose of fencing Mr. Batson’s yard.
4. Can Mr. Blair tell the general public why he and Mr. Batson were reported at the Ethnic Relation Commission way back in 2008 for preaching racial hatred towards Indo-farmers?
Mr. Blair, in Guyana, we don’t need such behaviour and I advise you to go to church and look around and see if there are not people of all races who are in that very church worshiping one God.
I strongly believe you are unfit to run a Society and deal with people of all ethnic backgrounds.
In Guyana we have farmers of all backgrounds and we are the backbone of this great country of ours.
