By Akola Thompson
THE first time I saw Bharrat Jagdeo, I was sitting in the auditorium of Berbice High School. I can’t quite recall what the occasion was, but I remember his peacock strut and the power that seemed to emanate from him as he walked around the auditorium engaging in conversation.At the time, I was around nine years old, and all I felt was excitement and a grudging sense of respect for this powerful man who chose to pay a visit to a group of ‘tweens’.
Fast forward 11 years, and now all I feel is disappointment that this man has become — or in actuality always has been — someone who refers to Afro-descended persons like me as “these people” whenever we dare rise to a position of power. He continuously makes us out to be not only vindictive, but a danger to Indians, as he did in Queens recently.
In the process, what he is doing is continuing to encourage and foster division between us and our Indo-descended brothers and sisters — with whom, at best, we have always had a tenuous relationship. In so doing, he is effectively diminishing all efforts made in trying to address and fix the racial tension that exists on both sides of the divide up to this day.
In a democratic society such as Guyana’s, there is no place for systematic division of the races; as what we will end up with, as we have before, is not only nepotism and corrupt politics, but a solidifying of stereotypes which have little or no truth to them; and this will cause negative repercussions for those who have been labelled.
The frightening thing about Jagdeo is that he is smart, and why someone who is as smart as he is will still bend to the whims of racism and aim to perpetuate it is a mystery beyond my comprehension.
During my short stint as a reporter at the Kaieteur News, I often spoke to Jagdeo on varying issues, and while by then I knew the embodiment of corruption and hatred that he was, I was often torn between my dislike for his race-baiting politics and my respect for his analytical capacity; because while he is a despicable person, he’s a far sharper politician than many of those who are currently in the coalition government. And if he were ever to run for president again, I do believe there is a high likelihood that he would win.
In my mind, I still cannot put together the Jagdeo who plays on the fears and prejudices of constituents, the man I saw 11 years ago, and the man I spoke to last year. His duality is utterly frightening; being a racist supremacist is one thing, but being a cunning racist supremacist spells chaos for all those who do not fit his ideal and believe in his interpretation of the truth, as we have learnt and seen to our great horror during his years as president.
Jagdeo, in his speech in Queens, stated, “What we thought would never return to Guyana in just one short year has returned in full force, and even worse in some regards than the Burnham era,” thereby insinuating that the coalition government is for Blacks, and Indians cannot possibly have a good life under a Black government. By this he is urging them to have the PPP, a predominantly Indian party, back in power.
While the coalition government has made some very serious missteps along the way — which have certainly dimmed my view of them — I do believe that in a short time, some small but positive changes have been made in the area of social cohesion.
Whereas Jagdeo, as always, continues to beat the proverbial drums of divisiveness and preach racism at a time when what we really need is inclusivity and tolerance.
The sad thing is: despite this not being Jagdeo’s first such statement — as charges were laid against him last year for divisive statements he made at Babu John — no one from the PPP and its supporters seek to speak out, condemn, or distance themselves from his rhetoric, which paints Afro-Guyanese as aggressors.
The thundering silence from the PPP and its support base just shows the blatant racism that still exists amongst enclaves of Indo-Guyanese, not just at home, but by those who have made lives elsewhere. It shows that no matter what positive steps are taken and what changes occur, there will always be those who will try to raise their support numbers by resorting to cheap political tricks and racist rhetoric.
