Colonial Forces That Divided Guyana Are ‘Well and Alive’

Dear Editor,

This month has many historical events which if studied, can avoid us as a people repeating those mistakes, and importantly help us to recognise the real enemy, imperialism, colonial philosophy, greed, and the manipulation of locals, in support of the above, be they chiefs, tribal leaders, the caste culture or those consumed and controlled with, what we refer to as the house slave mentality.

In Guyana we had the Abraham fire, Enmore Martyrs anniversary, and in far away India I recall the “black hole of Calcutta” event on June 20, 270 years ago. Where irritated and provoked by the arrogance of the British administrators, Siraj ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal ordered scores of British citizens into a cell 18 feet by 14 feet, designed to accommodate, perhaps half a dozen persons. Going through records in the UK these British adults and children were described as prisoners of war.

Years later as we deplore this inhumane act, where dozens of lives were snuffed out from heat and suffocation, we today ought not to ignore the danger of people and leaders being provoked.

Only a few days ago this June, the Church of England accepted the need for reparation, as a result of the billions earned from the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but to date nothing has been dispersed, and there is now division within the hierarchy of the Church on this question of reparation.

Let us take counsel from our earlier experiences and avoid these missteps, so that those who govern in Guyana today can bequeath to succeeding generations a country that is glorious and not damned, a country where we recognise that the enemy that enslaved us, betrayed us, brought indentureship, and divided us, is well and alive, Guyanese beware.

Yours truly,
Elder Hamilton Green