I READ with great interest a letter penned by PPP Parliamentarian Neil Kumar about the violent attack on innocent civilians at Agricola. That letter was an accurate account of what transpired that day, when the savage horde pounced on unsuspecting commuters and unleashed a sick display of barbarity. Some folk were robbed, beaten and sexually molested. It was a sad day for Guyana also, because the issue of racism is still alive and well, as persons of a certain race group were specifically targeted as the perpetrators went on their rampage.
This is a scourge that the present administration has tried so hard to eradicate, only to see it raising its ugly head by the opposition. It is a pathetic picture when people try to revive animosity of one race against another.  Persons of such divisive, backward politics must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
Freddie Kissoon and, most recently, two other comical figures, Sasenarine Singh and Asquith Rose, quickly accused Mr Kumar of being a racist. They were, in essence, calling Mr Kumar a liar, that these things never happened, and in turn accused him of spreading these rumours as scare tactics to lure Indians back into the PPP/C’s fold.
Well, Kissoon can conveniently attack Kumar or a Vishnu Bisram because they are East Indians, but I challenge them to attack me, a Black Man, with what I am about to say.
I am a Black Man from Berbice who came to Georgetown to attend University. I mean I’ve read about racism in Guyanese history, but to have witnessed it firsthand as I did in Georgetown was an experience I will never forget as long as I live.
The sickness hit me hardest because I am not accustomed to that racial division. I am not accustomed to that sort of thing. I am used to all of us living in harmony in the little village I came from, so when I came to Georgetown to hear of “black people” and “coolie people”, it was quite disconcerting, to say the least.
Let me mention a few disturbing episodes. Soon after Mrs Jagan came to office there was Hoyte’s “slo fiah mo fiah” campaign, when businesses owned by East Indians would go up in smoke and persons of East Indian descent were beaten and robbed. I vividly remember that year-long rampage when, with reckless abandon, an Indian woman was dragged to the back of Stabroek Market and gang raped.
An Indian sitting in his car was attacked by an old black woman, who gave him a hard lash on his arm; he had to take it without saying a word and quietly leave. If he had dared to reverse his car and knock her down then he would have been killed instantly.
My friend John, who was a member of that marauding horde, turned to me and said, “We control Georgetown, boy, any good coolie is a dead one.” I responded with some terse expletives with what he should control, doing so in hush-hush tones, for fear that they turn on me. Because that was the name of the game – you condemn them and you get a sound thrashing, or have your house channa bombed.
I, as well as those who are living in denial, can testify to the excesses of the race, all under the so-called name of protest. Just to ask a rhetorical question, can anyone tell me which protest action ever sponsored by the opposition and supporters of the PPP/C party or Indians in particular weren’t violently attacked? Please, can someone furnish me with the details?
So let us cut the chase. I challenge Freddie or Sasenarine to go into the streets when these savages are on the move and I guarantee you that they would not return in one piece. The mere sight of a “coolie man” (I ask the editor to publish same for emphasis) means what I’ve aforementioned should happen to him. That is their slogan; that is their objective. It is a shame that Moses and Ramjatan can be in that mess where they are defending those racial attacks.
Shame on you Moses, and double shame on you Khemraj. You are not from that mould. You guys are from a party that promotes racial harmony, and to stoop so low leaves me speechless. Freddie and Rupert are beyond redemption. They forgot the days when they had to run for their lives, or got bitten with red ants having to crawl on their bellies and hide when that racial mob went in search of them; they are in an “ass trilogy” mode right now.
But I call on Moses and Khemraj to come out of that nonsense. Guyana belongs to ALL of us, not one racial group alone.