Mark Devonish makes false, insinuating statements

I am replying to Mark Devonish’s letter which was published in the Kaieteur News of June 9, 2011. First of all Editor, I must advise Devonish that my previous response to him was sent to all the daily newpapers. According to Devonish, my letter, “for some strange reason was concealed in the Guyana Chronicle (June 7)”. Well, Editor, on what evidence did Devonish conclude this? I have no control over what any of the news carriers publish; only the Editor determines what is carried by their respective papers. Secondly, Editor, Mark Devonish uses very insinuating statements that I am sure he has no proof on which to base his claims. From my understanding, this writer is an overseas-based Guyanese. I would therefore, advise him that before he makes these falsely insinuating claims, he must develop a genuine understanding of what is actually happening in Guyana,  that is not limited to, or tainted by an ‘across the bridge’ scenario which he is in. I am an African Guyanese, and like I said in my previous letter, being unemployed does not make you marginalised. I myself have experienced the woes one experiences while job-hunting in Guyana, but I know that I am not alone in this regard. I have many friends of other ethnicities who have been in the same situation. Guyana’s budding economy simply does not have the absorptive capacity for full employment. This does not mean that the jobs that are available are disproportionately distributed among the different ethnicities. And a realization of this fact certainly does not mean that I am belittling any group’s experiences.
Since this writer insists, however, that my people, the Africans are marginalised, let him identify 15 Africans who are unemployed unjustifiably. I will identify 15 similarly skilled Indians, and 15 Mixed race individuals who are in a similar situation.
Guyana has unemployment; we cannot deny that fact, but we are faced with a situation that affects the entire  world. The collapse of the global economy continues to have worldwide implications, and if this writer were to look carefully, he would see that pockets of unemployment exist in Guyana, in the Region, and also in other, more developed countries of the world. It is not a situation where the government has neglected its people, neither is it a situation where any ethnic group is being disadvantaged. In spite of this, I believe that the government is working to create a better Guyana for all Guyanese.

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