Dear Editor,
RASTAFARI community of all Guyana and their counterparts are moved to release this manuscript and response to a recent press release by ‘Sam Hinds, Roger Luncheon, Bishop Edghill, Gillian Burton and others of African descent, members of the PPP and PPPC’, that appeared in Kaieteur News (October 31, 2017) as ‘Fair-minded African Guyanese must speak out to avert this politically disruptive path’.

All Rastafari we have spoken to state boldly to all Guyana that Rastafari are non-racial. There is East Indian Rastafari in Guyana and there are Rastafari of all races in every continent of the world. All are guided by the words and work of HIM Haile Selassie 1, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Juda, Light of the world, Elect of God.

Sam Hinds, Roger Luncheon and other Africans in the PPP and PPP/C have been silent for 23 years while the sacred air and consciousness of Guyanese of African descent were invaded and toxified by Cheddi Jagan, Janet Jagan, Sam Hinds, Bharrat Jagdeo, Donald Ramotar and PPP ministers of their governments. The music of India penetrated our consciousness from early morning at the exclusion of the music from Africa. Even the many musical forms of Caribbean music were permitted limited exposure as their governments worked relentlessly to divorce Guyana from African Caribbean.

For 23 years pageants and sports in India penetrated our consciousness at the exclusion of the festivals and sports in Africa e.g. cricket in India connected the offspring of indentured Indians to their foreparents in India but football in Africa was not shown to Guyanese to connect the offspring of enslaved Africans to their foreparents who came from Africa. Even as East Indian ‘arrival’ symbols and festive days were celebrated by PPP/C governments, similar symbols and days for Africans were forgotten.

After the 1992 elections when Cheddi Jagan secured the Presidency, he and Pandit Reepu Persaud at Agriculture Ministry set about to erase African culture and history. At the material culture, rice was expanded as cattle and pigs of the Burnham era were miniaturised. At the spiritual culture, the world class 1763 Monument (Cuffy) by Philip Moore of Jordanite spirituality was the destination of garbage and household rubbish. The USA-based Guyanese Kamau Cush returned home and daringly mobilised all Guyanese to landscape that environment and refurbish the monument. He is still paying the price for this daring act. After this act, the 1763 Monument became the preferred location for wedding photographs of all races and a site for romantic reflection by Guyanese and peoples of other origin.

Cheddi and Janet Jagan passed the baton of power to Bharrat Jagdeo, Robert Persaud, Frank Anthony, Ashni Singh, Anil Nandlall, Priya Manickchand, Irfaan Ali and Donald Ramotar. Why did Sam Hinds, Roger Luncheon and the PPP and PPP/C Africans fold arms while these arrogants did even greater damage to multiracial Guyana? Infrastructure was not even-raced –electric lights for the Indians and darkness for the Africans, paved roads for the Indian villages and dirt roads for the African villages. Roger Luncheon mouthed that no African had the intelligence to be a diplomat of Guyana.

Robert Persaud at Agriculture and Mining did a number on African farmers and miners. Frank Anthony at Youth and Culture aimed to break African spirit even with refusal to have Philip Moore buried at the Seven Ponds where pilgrims will muse about this great Jordanite man-god. Ashni Singh at Finance manipulated many public accounts. Anil Nandlall at law was lawless. Priya Manickchand at Education encouraged abuse to Guyanese and foreigners. Irfaan Ali at Housing sheltered mainly East Indians at five major housing estates across Guyana –they called it ‘social engineering’. Donald Ramotar at the Presidency listened to Jagdeo instead of using his God given talent to create wealth for all Guyanese brothers and sisters.

Cheddi Jagan aimed to fashion Guyana into a state similar to Madagascar and Fiji by using Indian caste culture and then teenage marriage customs to outnumber all other races in Guyana to win elections. Again, Cheddi Jagan brought East Indian compradors to British Guiana to destroy British and Portuguese commission agents and African farm to market wealth. The latter was destruction of African sacred space–the African farmers markets. Can’t Sam Hinds, Roger Luncheon, Bishop Edghill, and Gillian Burton recognize this? We are in a numbers contest. The Presidency is won by one vote. The PPP views democracy as a racial dictatorship contest and hence they are filled with thoughts and words of degradation– “rigged elections”.

Below are five important points we need to focus indelibly on as we review the past. Spirituality is the key to prosperity. It opens doors that are closed and love enters unknowingly. This completes the common factor.

1. Philip Moore must enter Georgetown and be reburied at the Seven Ponds. There has been no greater artist that Guyana has produced. He is a sacred soul without equal.

2. Philip Moore’s painting ‘Jumbie Wedding’ must be restored with urgency and placed at a place of prominence for all Guyanese to view with dignity and regularity. Moon-gazer will warn us on our wedding to ExxonMobil. Is it a jumbie wedding?

3. The 1823 Monument must be removed from its present location and placed at Independence Park to inspire the psyche of Guyanese of African Descent.

4. Forbes Burnham’s painting which was removed from the National Cultural Centre by Gail Teixeira must return there, since it is a historic plaque that represents posterity.

5. The Jhandi flags of East Indian gods must be matched by Africa’s sacred colours of red, gold and green to inspire the prosperity of Africans who earn it. African liberty of spirit is the road to African prosperity.

Regards
Ras Leon Saul
Roy James
Elizabeth Nurse
‘Magic’ October
Ras Bizzi
Anis Miller
Conrad Noel
Ras Dalgettie I and others of the Rastafari community and their counterparts