We need the truth on the Wismar massacre

Dear Editor,

I read with grief and concern a letter written by Baytoram Ramharack’s letter titled  “May 26 should be a day of remembrance of the Wismar massacre.”

Those who wickedly continue to peddle this inaccurate and racially-driven narrative that our Independence date is somehow related to the Wismar massacre must stop this deliberate deception.

Briefly hostilities in the Wismar-Christianburg area directed against Indo-Guyanese residents was the result of murder, mutilation of Afro-Guyanese in the Mahaicony area including the mutilated body of an Afro-Guyanese fished out of the Mahaicony creek wrapped in barbwire.

The perpetrators of this horror were Indo-Guyanese. At that time, the majority of bauxite workers hailed from the Mahaicony-West Coast Berbice areas, and that incident was the spark that led to what Ramharack refers to as the Wismar massacre.

The writer is at sea in relating the Independence date to this massacre where no more than six Indo-Guyanese lost their lives. In his unfortunate, what appears to be race-baiting, no mention is made of over forty-seven (47) persons perished when the Launch, Sun Chapman owned by a known PNC supporter, Norman Chapman was blown up.

A subsequent commission of inquiry revealed that an Indo-Guyanese, known as Paddy-man had boarded the Launch Sun Chapman had placed two bags of paddy near the engine-room but left the wharf at Sussex Street, and never traveled on that fateful day.

The time has come for us to this one-sided reporting of an unhappy period in our history.

The time has come for us to learn from the events of the sixties.

The time has come for us to end this portrayal of one group being the victims. Guyana was at war and as we see even unto this day, war produces an environment where we use our humanity so long as some folks continue to retool our history. We will make the opportunity to work together more difficult.

I ask Mr. Ramharack, Guyanese and Editors to turn away from this journey of madness and hate.

Let us learn to love one another, learn from the mistakes of the past and let every Guyanese, irrespective of race, color or creed be the victors.

Yours truly,

Erick Moseley, MS