A LETTER in Tuesday’s edition of the Chronicle by Mr. Charles Sugrim, under the caption: “Let us show the world that we can be leaders” – enumerated a number of commendable suggestions aimed at moving Guyana in the direction of shared governance and national reconciliation.

There is one problem, however, with his menu of suggestions: Racial harmony and ethnic reconciliation cannot be administrated or legislated.

The desire to live in peaceful harmony and to be reconciled with one’s former “ethnic enemy” must spring from the hearts of genuine seekers of peace.

Temporary legislative band-aids will not produce a national atmosphere of lasting peace and racial harmony.

Every single Guyanese of every race and hue must want to move Guyana upward and out of the morass of ethnic conflict in which it has been embroiled for over half a century.

Hearts and minds willingly desiring the end to racial conflicts and the ushering in of a new era of national ethnic peace and reconciliation will find relevant legislation a useful tool.

This legislation will not then be viewed as a mere legal device cobbled together to force an uneasy national racial tolerance. Rather, it would be embraced as the visible outward expression of the sincere longings and desires of the peoples of Guyana for the transformation of their national landscape – the permanent banishing of racial conflicts and the welcoming of a new day of peace and prosperity across the land.

The question is, “Are Guyanese ready, willing, and able to initiate this transformation?”
JAMAL ALI
New York
(Telephone #: 917-478-0779)
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