MY letter is in response to Abu Bakr, Eric Phillips and Dr David Hinds enlightening refreshers published in the media.
“And yes, we have had and will continue to have an ethno-racial problem. I use the term ethno-racial to mean ethnic groups which relate to each other through the lens of race. To get a proper sense of what we are talking about, a brief history and explanation of race is needed. We often talk about race in Guyana as if it is figment of people’s imagination—false consciousness. But it is not; it is real. Race as biology has been proven to be unreal. But race as social, political, economic and cultural practice is real,” wrote David Hinds in the KN of 3-24-14.
When or how are we to conclude this agenda item and move on, allowing Hinds et all to solve this forever problem unhindered?
That slavery was an inhuman brutality inflicted on defenseless victims by European Christians needs no repetitious debate constantly proving slavery was wrong, always and now more wrong, less right and then going to great lengths to conclude how it was so repulsive, horrendous, so obviously and conclusively wrong and without a doubt most repulsive – all to what end?. Should it really matter which was worse between continental African or European mistreatment of slaves as Abu Bakr and Eric Phillips (SN of 3-20-14) debated? What is the significant difference between chattel slavery, in comparison to those who bought, owned and treated humans as property and animals? Slavery is slavery period. Imposed brutality, mass raping of women, robbery of the defenceless, the innocent, and assault and deprival of human dignity just because of skin colour cannot anytime be acceptable. Also, neither can slavery and butchery imposed by whites on other whites: e.g. Nazis on Jews make it less deplorable.
All this farming by Afro-centric advocates like Abu Bakr (France), Eric Phillips (Guyana), David Hinds (USA) etc, should get straight to the point. Let us be serious, now that the taxpayer-funded CARICOM is dispatched to procure reparations how much money are we to get when promptly paid? Slavery has had a most debilitating impact not only on the victims’ physical condition but it is the minds which have been mostly still affected and for many generations, as the aforesaid critics can testify. In my humble opinion all who participated and were responsible for enslaving Africans must be held accountable, be it the Arabs slave traders, European financiers, ship owners, plantation buyers and African tribes. Slave off-springs need to move beyond only an apology and calculate the monetary value due.

Horrific crimes committed by race against race deserves due compensation. Still, could there be other means of resolution? When the reparations of satisfaction have been secured and safely deposited in a local Guyana owned bank, only then would the process of healing, atonement and closure have been fully and completely served for all.

In the meantime, all those innocent victims and descendants of the 1964 Wismar massacre who also suffered horrific crimes, targeted only by automatic guilt of race, especially from those of our modern civilised creolised society, making it most heinous and outstandingly inhumane, would of course, also, be due “equality” of justice by expeditious compensation. In Dwarka Nath’s book,” A History of Indians in Guyana” he noted some 1,600 Indo-Guyanese were assaulted, homes and business looted and set afire, women and children raped and brutalised and their gold and silver jewellery and savings stolen by Afro-Guyanese gangs while the police did nothing. Those Wismar Indians and descendants must urgently file an injunction now, for the record, and start a class action lawsuit against the town and citizens of Wismar for adequate compensation. The AFC would no doubt be their best supporters and with lawyers Khemraj Ramjattan and Nigel Huges fighting their case, victory is assured, considering their excellent experience.
Encouragement for such urgent course of justice was sanctioned by no other than Hinds in the KN of 3-24-14 who noted “One can no doubt make the same claim from both an Indian Guyanese and an Amerindian Guyanese standpoint. Indeed, Indian Guyanese made similar charges during the tenure of the PNC” … but they unfortunately, never followed it to conclusion because of more than laziness and indolence- truth be told. Look, it’s not too late you know, David especially would be most supportive of reparations for Wismar 1964. In fact, he may also become monumented by future generations of Guyanese because, as he himself wrote in the KN of 3-24-14, no more did “Blackness became synonymous with, among other things, backwardness, indolence, shallowness, unreason and laziness… (especially after historic) … characterisation of Blackness as inferior—the White Racial Frame— found its way into laws and socio-economic and political policies” but which were all overcome by reparation settlement. That David may be supportive of Wismar reparations should be appreciated, if not commended, resolved as he is by choice within the cocooned isolationist past for ultimate self-sufficiency emergence of excellence most familiar only to him or whomever.

Claims for adequate reparations, much justified by the ravages of slavery, is understandable and exemplary, without any cause to keep any other(s) manacled forever, as is. Tenant status of Guyana’s native population will find redress, adjustment and closure since justice and “equality” matters are nonrestrictive. While Portuguese, Indian and Chinese (PIC) long gone indenturedship found no foreign fairy godmothers (UK and U.S.) in aid of their own closure and adjustment, they also cannot be expected to be without freedom to be unhitched from agitating problems not of their making or resolution. Either we swim together federated or develop separately in partition. Hindsight does not restrict the only way to be free.
VASSAN RAMRACHA