WHY is the colonially-shaped mind so permanent? To think that in countries that colonised non-European nations, brutalised them, exploited their resources and imposed their cultural and philosophical values on them, there are people in the former colonies that uphold the colonial narratives and believe in them.

A Guyanese wrote that Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorist organisations. And who described them as terrorists? Western countries who prefer Israel, have geopolitical relations with Israel, and support Israel for reasons of religion, culture and ethnicity. People who are fighting against a foreign occupier that imposed a system of apartheid on them are called terrorists.

When there are other groups around the world fighting for lands they say belong to them, and Western powers support them, then, suddenly, by some weird psychic contortion, they are freedom fighters; not terrorists. Let’s look at another manifestation of the contorted mind that the colonials left in the Third World.

We go to two frequent letter writers in the newspapers, Mr. Vishu Bisram and Mr. Mike Persaud. These two gentlemen see the Western political and governance model as one Guyana should look up to. They are not alone in what they wrote about the West. Their mentality is reproduced in people in this country that are educated. Henry Jeffrey is one of them. He cites Western countries as the embodiment of liberal democratic values.

Persaud advised national political actors that they should look to Canada, the UK, the EU and the USA for a formula to mitigate our racial tensions. He chose not to include South Africa, Indian, Malaysia or even our CARICOM neighbours. The research will show that in those countries, they themselves cannot find a formula for racial reconciliation; why, then, should we entrust them to find one for us.

The only ceasefire in the Israeli attack on Gaza was one year ago. Since November last year, Mr. Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has gone to Qatar, Egypt, and Israel more than one dozen times to birth a ceasefire agreement. Yet, in November 2024, Israel is bombing and killing helpless women and children on a level that the even Nazis did not do.

Persaud lives in the US, where he is a member of some bizarre group named Oil and Governance Network. Maybe he should turn his attention to the failure of his country (the US) to find a ceasefire blueprint for Gaza. Does Mr. Persaud have Germany in mind when he suggested that Guyana should look to the EU for advice to ameliorate racial tensions?

Germany has embraced Israel in what Israel is doing in Gaza. The German Chancellor repeated what his predecessor, Angela Merkel, announced years ago, that Israel is Germany’s reason of state. Translated, that means Germany’s existence is bound up with Israel. Can Germany advise Guyana on its racial problems? There is an ambassador in Guyana at the moment.

When he arrived here, in an interview with the Stabroek News, he said his field is conflict resolution, and he has worked on seven areas of conflict. I phoned the gentleman for an interview. He answered the phone. I announced myself. He said he was in a meeting, but I should talk to his administrative director.

I called the lady and left my number; she said she will get back to me. It is a year now, and I haven’t heard from her. She left Guyana for another posting. I wanted to talk to the gentleman about conflict resolution in Gaza.

Here is what Bisram asserted about Western countries: “The people are sovereign, and the government has limited power as given to it by the people as in developed countries like USA, UK, Canada.”  He cited only Western powers, and not one CARICOM country where the Prime Minister’s power is far more limited than in the US and the UK. In fact, CARICOM countries, except Guyana, have constitutional systems similar to Canada.

I have always heard people say when I was growing up that the colonial mind is one of the most tragic things the world has produced. I think the tragedy is a mild word.

 DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.