Online Encyclopædia Britannica defines civil rights as “an essential component of democracy. They’re guarantees of equal social opportunities and protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other characteristics. Examples are the rights to vote, to a fair trial, to government services, and to a public education.”
Only the dishonest would deny this election cycle and its aftermath did not create a hostile climate never seen by many. Where more than two-thirds of the population is under 40 years, many are far removed from the racial hostilities of the early 1960s. Their ‘experiences,’ real or perceived, would be influenced by their seniors or recorded history, a history we know only too well is not always based on truth and depends on who is telling the stories.
There is no mistaking whatever persons were told or believe, their perception of race, politics and political preference, Guyana remains a nation mired in ethnic divisions, distrusts and hostilities. National leaders must acknowledge these and work together to reduce this social crisis for if left untended could lead to conflagration. Averting this ought to be a matter of national priority. Constructive mechanisms must be put in place not only to facilitate open, honest and frank conversations around these issues but laws, programmes and policies to aid responsible approaches in handling the insecurities that flow from these.
Those disinterest in having such conversations would find ways to prevent them, notably by attacking those who so engage and call them racists. This has become the front/default tactic to mask and justify the practice of racism and stifle the expression of those who seek to oppose and speak out strongly against it. The earlier Guyanese confront this national problem the better for all. No group, particularly the two major groups will allow either to dominate or marginalise them. They also see persons of their race placed in political positions by their political rival as tokenism, disrespect for their right to identify and elect the leaders they want to represent them. Some within said party also reject the racial other.
And whereas some use such representation to argue this is evidence of the absence of racism, they ignore this is not the equivalent of allowing persons the right to decide who they want to lead and represent them or evident practices of racism. Mutual respect is a sore issue and a value Guyanese, individually and collectively, must pursue as a matter of urgency for neither will accept otherwise. The other racial groups, though smaller in size, are of equal importance and deserve no less respect.
No group would be able to succeed if other groups are not allowed to succeed. As the civil rights icon, Reverend Dr Martin Luther King reminded us: “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be…This is the inter-related structure of reality.”
