Attorney-at-law Darren Wade has renewed a call he first made six years ago for the establishment of a national Peace and Reconciliation Commission, arguing that Guyana cannot achieve genuine national healing while commemorating only selected tragedies from its politically turbulent past.
In a statement posted on social media, Wade said the country must confront the full scope of the political and ethnic violence that scarred the 1960s rather than elevate one incident above others.
His comments come amid renewed public discussion over the May 1964 violence at Wismar, a period of unrest that resulted in the deaths, displacement and dispossession of many residents, predominantly of Indian descent. The events occurred during one of the most volatile periods in Guyana’s history, when political rivalry between the country’s major parties was accompanied by widespread ethnic violence, bombings, killings and retaliatory attacks in several communities.
While acknowledging the gravity of the Wismar events, Wade questioned the language commonly used to describe them.
“It was not a massacre, and describing it as such is, in my view, an inaccurate use of the English language. What occurred at Wismar was an outbreak of mob violence,” he wrote.
Wade said he was equally concerned by what he described as efforts to treat Wismar as though it occurred in isolation from the broader cycle of violence that engulfed the country.
“Equally troubling is the tendency to treat the Wismar incident as an isolated event. Guyana’s history is marked by a series of interconnected tragedies that touched families and communities across our country.”
Drawing on his own family’s experience, Wade disclosed that four of his relatives were killed during the unrest.
“Four of my own relatives were killed in their camp in Abary in 1964.”
He also referenced other episodes that claimed innocent lives, including the deaths of eight members of the Abraham family when their Hadfield Street home was attacked and set ablaze, the bombing of the Son Chapman, which killed 43 people, and the disappearance of numerous men from Perth, Mahaicony.
“These are only some of the many lives lost during that turbulent period.”
The Son Chapman bombing on July 6, 1964, remains one of the deadliest incidents of political violence in Guyana’s history. The launch was destroyed by an explosive device while crossing the Demerara River during a period of intense political unrest in the then British Guiana.
Wade argued that recognising one tragedy while overlooking others undermines efforts at national reconciliation.
“Selective remembrance cannot bring healing. We dishonour the memory of all victims when we elevate one tragedy while overlooking others.”
“Every innocent life lost deserves equal recognition, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation.”
Repeating a proposal he first advanced six years ago, Wade said Guyana still needs a formal mechanism to confront its painful history and foster national unity.
“More than sixty years later, Guyana still needs a comprehensive Peace and Reconciliation Commission—one that honestly examines our shared history, acknowledges the suffering of all communities, establishes an accurate historical record, and helps us move beyond division towards genuine national healing.”
He maintained that reconciliation cannot be achieved by focusing on isolated events while ignoring the broader historical record.
“Only by confronting our entire past, rather than isolated parts of it, can we build a more united future.”
Calls for a truth and reconciliation process have surfaced periodically in Guyana as political leaders, academics and civil society organisations continue to debate how best to address the legacy of the violence that accompanied the country’s struggle toward independence. Advocates argue that such a commission could establish a comprehensive historical record, acknowledge the suffering of all affected communities and help bridge longstanding political and ethnic divisions that continue to influence national life.
