Dear Editor,
I was nurtured from adolescent by the old political stalwarts and learned much about Guyana from them, having the fortune to listen to the likes of Andrew L. Jackson, Cheddi Jagan, Eusi Kwayana, Ashton Chase, Jane Phillips-Gay, Winifred Gaskin, Ptolemy Reid, Neville Bissember, Hamilton Green and of course the Master, Forbes Burnham.

We were taught as Afro-Guyanese to respect all people irrespective of race, class, colour or creed. Pre and Post-Independence Guyana, because of the so-called six races, from time to time, experienced stress among the races, – each vying to occupy a special place.
Earlier, about six hundred years ago, the Portuguese Island of Madeira had captured African slaves, to work on their plantations and so, when the African slaves won their freedom in 1834, we believed in an effort to lighten the coloured landscape, the British in 1835 turned to Madeira to bring in new people as immigrants to work on the plantation.

It soon became evident that the Portuguese Immigrants could not deal with the harsh tropical conditions which existed on the plantations, and they were assisted by the Imperial Master to establish businesses and had a highly-successful merchant community. (Bettencourt, JP Santos, John Fernandes, Nascimento, Correias, Gouveias, D’Aguiar, the Houston Dictator Rum Shops, Pawn Brokers, etc.)

We all learnt to hold in high regard many good Portuguese and some Afro-Guyanese even became members of the predominantly Portuguese Roman Catholic Church, but there is always some underlying tension which manifested itself in the famous cent-bread riot when it was alleged a Portuguese businessman had kicked a black boy for stealing a cent bread.
The black lad fell to the ground and words spread that he had died.

This caused the generally peaceful children of slaves to react violently, destroying the Portuguese businesses in Water Street and the surrounding areas. It appeared that the colonial system had produced and accepted a pecking order, with the coining of Guyana being a country of six races, where the Immigrant Portuguese were regarded as separate and distinct from the British Administrators perhaps because:

1. They came as Immigrants
2. They were Roman Catholics (then considered less that the Anglican Church) and
3. There were African slaves in Madeioa since around 1420/1430. The English aristocracy may have considered the Portuguese, not a pre-European stock, because who knows the overseers may have caused some Portuguese to have a bit of the tar brush.
Unhappily, this prejudice seems to live on. Note the problems that George III had, when he married Sophia, when the King’s subjects felt that the Queen’s feature suggested she had African blood.
And what do we think is the reason for the harassment of Harry and Meghan. Meghan whose American Mother has African blood. Remember, Dr. Jagan once publicly stated that Afro-Guyanese were at the bottom of the ladder, so you had the British, No. one, Portuguese No. two . Take your pick for Nos. three, four and five. But according to Jagan, No. six, – the bottom – is Afro-Guyanese.

I don’t know where people of mixed parentage, such as myself, can be squeezed in but back to a present concern. People like the late John Fernandes, Peter Stanislaus D’Aguiar, David De Caires, Joe Vieira (Snr) of Houston Estate, Eugene Francis Correia, Carl D’Aguiar, (Linden) John Gabriel Joaquin (Kitty) and others were solid patriots and there was no evidence that they held any disregard for Afro-Guyanese.

But in fact, all of the above names, had a most respectful and loving relationship with Afro-Guyanese. I honour them. When you have a quake of crabs or a basket of mangoes, as happens everywhere, you will find a few rotten ones in between. Some of these rotten ones provoked the Late President Desmond Hoyte to explode referring to certain groups as the “Potagee Mafia.”

Mr. Editor, my question is with the likes of Harry Gill, Tony Vieira, Gerry Gouveia, are we seeing a resurgence of the philosophy of a “Potagee Mafia?”, I hope not. One of the experienced politicians, this week, cautioned Mr. Gouveia, who was allegedly speaking on behalf of the Private Sector Commission, to be careful not to appear to be biased against certain folks. I know the masses will not take kindly to such a stance.
Regards,
Nigel Bacchus