Dear Editor,
For years now, across the different political regimes (PNC and PPP), it has been the policy and practice to provide grants to the African Guyanese communities for the purpose of hosting activities or undertaking community projects in commemoration of the 1833 proclamation of the emancipation of the enslaved people of African descent and the abolition of enslavement, in the colony, in 1834.
The People’s Progressive Party`s government has added a new dimension and criterion to this tradition, in the form of a ceremony, a public optic moment, a mandatory attendance when those grants are being handed-out. The grants were previously, routinely, disbursed through the African Museum, which maintains the register of the communities/organisations which are entitled to the grants.
This new feature is but a charade and public masquerading of the recipients of those grants, in the Government’s ongoing propaganda campaign, to present itself as a caring government for all Guyanese, even as it refuses to recognize and consult with the elected representatives of the people of African descent at the national, local and civil society levels.
Worse yet, as the global community observes the United Nation`s (UN) declared decade for the people of African descent, the Government of Guyana, a signatory to the UN`s resolution, which declared the decade, has sought to destroy the International Decade for the People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) an African Guyanese umbrella organisation established by the African Guyanese community for the observance, and achievement, of the goals of the decade, by defunding and denigrating IDPADA-G, while establishing and funding alternate organizations.
In doing so, the Government has also articulated 1. its disagreement with, and inapplicability, to Guyana, of, the resolve clauses of UN Declaration which acknowledges “the efforts and initiatives undertaken by States to prohibit discrimination and segregation and to engender the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural as well as civil and political rights”, but emphasizes “that despite efforts in this regard, millions of human beings continue to be victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including their contemporary manifestations, some of which take violent forms.”
The Government has also reneged on the adherence to the objectives of the Decade, namely: “(a) To strengthen national, regional and international action and cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civic and political rights by people of African descent and their full participation in all aspects of society;
“(b) To promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies;” and
“(c) To adopt and strengthen national, regional, and international legal frameworks in accordance with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and to ensure their full and effective implementation.”
Herein lies the challenges that have to be overcome. The masquerading of the people of African descent, in the name of caring for them, is despicable. Redressing the historical wrongs that still affect the people of African descent can only be realized if those wrongs are acknowledged and the required institutional and legal changes effected along with the required equitable policies, programmes and projects.
Yours truly,
Vincent Alexander
