Disabuse yourself of the popular myth which suggests that Africans accepted their subjugation without a fight or offered little or no resistance. From their capture to non-arrival, arrival on the plantation and during slavery, there was the constant manifestation of the quest to assert their human dignity. Despite their captors being equipped with unrivaled military, economic and political might, the […]
For Your Attention
Let’s be clear: racism and tribalism are learned behaviors that are often administered in the shadows, away from public view. Forget platitudinous public speeches. Disregard public displays of affection. Skip the propaganda. Eschew bold claims of not being racist. Pay little or no attention to those at public fora who grandiloquently proclaim to love all ethnic groups. Heed not the […]
Tribalism holds steadfastly to its narratives. It fables and myths and often time quasi-truths serve as daily sustenance. The tribesmen and women need their disinformation like they need the air. They demand their own facts. They insist on their own reality. They seek refuge and succor in selected twilight zones created by engineered facts. In addition, the truth is most […]
On Wednesday, Caricom woke up to the tragic news of its first Presidential assassination in modern times. President Jovenel Moise was executed in his home in the wee hours of the morning. It is my carefully considered view that this sordid development demands a pause for serious thought. Not the least because a sitting President was assassinated but on the […]
I distinctly recall the first time my father introduced me to the ‘The Black Jacobins’ by C.L.R James. At the apogee of my youthful exuberance, I had no clue; my father was attempting to make me acquainted with the single most important historical writing in the English-speaking Caribbean. Having failed to appreciate the significance of what this arch bibliophile and […]
By Ronald Austin Jr. We will soon find out. The time is nigh. The discovery of “black gold” invariably ushers in cataclysmic changes for the average society. Guyana is no different in this regard. In fact, we are probably a case study in which this phenomenon will be its most potent, given our status as the second poorest country in […]
We were told that licks will be shared. We trembled. Fear and trepidation permeated the primary school air as the time became nigh. Common Entrance was upon us and we approached this academic milestone with the sacred promise issued at the teacher’s desk: once you do well, your life will be fulfilled and you will receive the job you desired. […]
The usage of the words of Pablo Neruda above does not mean that I agree with the ideology embraced by this left-leaning intellectual. I simply found it to be tailor-made for the reflections I wish to highlight here. I am still waiting to see a successful country that is based on a pure Communist or Marxist model. My differing ideological […]
…..Strategic decision-making and the Region 4 Declaration Strong men rise from the ashes of rebellions and revolutions. They emerge after bloody battles with rivals. They are often forged in cataclysm. Above all, the state apparatus remains that eternal edifice that feeds their lust for power. But what happens when statesmen and stateswomen whose characters are far removed from the intricacies […]
Why the two major parties are never dead and will always remain permanent forces Above, I have paraphrased Alexis de Tocqueville’s views on democracy. It was necessary to capture the essence of what I wish to discuss. Tribalism, as you would have observed. In the best sense of the word, it is that dogged and fatalistic commitment to one’s ethnic […]
