Dear Editor,
I WOULD like to remind young people in Guyana that even though Guyana is a small country, uploading racist videos can lead to international consequences due to the global reach of the Internet, and the global trend of racist extremism posing a major problem in the First World countries.

I am thousands of miles away, living in a country which has a growing problem of racist groups who contend that Canada belongs to them, and they are pushing for violence and genocide towards Jewish people and non-whites. Yet, as someone who has a sense of humour, I found it very disgraceful that a young man published statements implying that young men of African ancestry pursuing an education at UG are considered villains for picking up money from the ground.

Do you know what this reminds me of?
The way of thinking which leads to American police ending up murdering unarmed African-American males at traffic stops and unconstitutional police questioning. To propagate a negative stereotype that such men have a propensity to commit crimes, even when pursing higher education, is nothing but something from the European White nationalist playbook.

Except that the young man laughing at UG would learn karmic debt when he migrates to the First World, and ends up being lumped together with the hostility towards Arab and North African men.
The young man in the video is laughing now, but what will he do when he migrates to the First World, and the racism from the supremacists affects him negatively?

He will be crying into the phone lines of President Granger’s office, begging to return home (like many Guyanese in the Diaspora wish to do, but are ashamed to return home like a pauper). Lots of Guyanese who were once staunch opponents of former President Forbes Burnham have expressed a desire to retire in Guyana today, oil or no oil, even with President Granger ruling the country. To quote Buju Banton, “Who feels it, knows it”.

Regards,
R. Hamid