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RACE AND ETHNICITY

Review of Kampta Karran's Race and Ethnicity in Guyana

Posted February 24th. 2003 - By David Hinds

Books and articles on race and ethnicity in Guyana have generally been written by academics, many of them nestled in the confines and relative comfort of far-off universities. From such safe territory, one could freely theorize, pontificate, recommend and dazzle with the intellect and pen. But rarely do the finished products reach those whose experiences are analyzed and for whom the results could potentially make a difference--the Guyanese people in field, factory, office, and classrooms. But even if these books were to be made available to the Guyanese people, it is doubtful that they would make a difference. Most of our academics, wedded as they are to their paradigms and frameworks and the rules of academia, generally speak to, and write for, themselves and their peers.

Kampta Karran's Race and Ethnicity in Guyana breaks out of this mould. Coming on the heels of Eusi Kwayana's No Guilty Race, this book adds to the popular discourse on race and ethnicity. Like No Guilty Race, it is also an academic work of considerable worth. In fact, the major strength of this book is its blend of the academic with the popular, thus making it accessible to a wider cross section of readers.

The book, a collection of essays, articles and commentaries, appropriately opens with an essay. "Revisiting Theories of Race and Class", by Professor C Y Thomas. Penetrating and thoughtful as usual, Thomas makes the case for a fresh look at this twin issue that has been central to the Guyana and Caribbean reality. The significance of this piece is that Thomas, known more for his class-based analysis in the Marxist tradition, seems to have arrived at the position that race in the Guyanese and Caribbean contexts should be treated with as much importance as class.

Critiquing the Caribbean Marxist approach to race, he correctly asserts that "Marxist economics, even the independent variety, has tended to treat race and other levels of social reality as epiphenomena, which, when reduced to their economic 'base", reveal their inner secrets, thereby no longer requiring specific study" (p. 27). Pressing home his argument, Thomas concludes "racism and racialism are processes which emerge and develop with society, but are not necessarily co-terminous with the existence of Marxist social classes in society" (p.27).

But it is Thomas's conclusions on Guyana that are of tremendous significance. Arguing that Guyana has reached a "democratic contradiction" resulting from racial voting, he sounds the ominous warning: "Democracy confined to free and fair elections and ignoring ethnic security, and the needs and fears of the major race groups would not be sustainable" (p. 26). Thomas wrote this in 1993, more than four years before the December 1997 confrontation that saw his words come to pass. Ever the incisive analyst, he asserts:

"If racial voting were to be the outcome of a free and fair election next time around, then free and fair election might well come to be seen as a 'pillar of domination" rather than a democratic advance, thereby leading to its rejection, and increasing the prospects of social breakdown" (p. 26).

Thomas's essay captures the essence of the book: grappling with a complex issue that, by necessity, must warrant persistent evaluation and re-evaluation, and coming to grips with the need for an urgent collective leap of imagination, both at the level of ideas and practice. Two other essays in the opening "Theories" section-- by Dr. Iris Sukdeo and Judaman Seecoomar--explore the origins of racial conflict in Guyana and, predictably, find colonialism guilty. But their conclusion on why the racial problem in Guyana is not insurmountable is interesting, yet controversial. Both writers downplay conflict and highlight cooperation among the races as evidence of hope.

According to Sukdeo, despite prejudice "in a subtle form," Guyanese "of all races work side by side practically with little skin-color consciousness wherever they are found together in production and services" (p.40). And Seecoomar cites as crucial to "undoing our colonial heritage" the "inherent good sense of the Guyanese people which holds despite the buffeting it gets in our five-yearly jamboree" and "the rapid agreement to look for solutions by peaceful means rather than continue to humiliate each other on the streets" (p. 52).

While there is general theoretical merit to these two writers' position, one must question whether the evidence in Guyana supports it. Is prejudice in Guyana subtle? Is there really a will among the elite to look for peaceful solutions? Is it true that acute racial prejudice and animosity are confined to the political arena? Even if one agrees that it is so, to what extent does politics inform other social interactions? Can people really practice "political prejudice" one day and change to tolerance the next day when the security and advancement of the races are perceived as being synonymous with control of State power? The jury is still out on these questions but, Sukdeo and Seecoomar, while agreeing with Thomas on the causes of racial conflict in Guyana and on possible solutions, do not share his estimation of the acuteness of the problem. Therein lies the value of this book, as it presents the reader with differing views and, possibly, differing realities, of the same problem.

The remainder of the book is a combination of scholarly essays, commentaries, and analyses, with a few self-serving pieces thrown in for good measure. Those by politicians from several of the political parties are more than useful, even if some of them fall into the category of partisan grandstanding. The contributions from Eusi Kwayana, Kenneth King, Vincent Alexander, Henry Jeffery, Andaiye, and Ravi Dev, all scholar-activists, avoid this trap.

Dev writes of the "persistence of ethnicity and the need to understand its contexts". Alexander sees the new wave of racial tensions as resulting from the clash between the races in "the marketplace" and argues that class is still the determining factor in the society. Nanda Gopaul thinks that while race influences voting pattern, it is not decisive. Henry Jeffery, in a provocative but interesting piece, explores why African-Guyanese are not successful in business: "there are relatively few Afro-Guyanese businesses because there is little Afro-Guyanese entrepreneurship" and that their need to make money "is not driven by the inner need for recognition and self-realization. It is strictly instrumental" (pp. 109-111). Andaiye asserts that a woman's place in business (except among Amerindians) is determined more by gender than by race and ethnicity and that race cannot be clarified by "continuing to obscure gender" (p. 120). Kenneth King identifies "institutional and legislative arrangements", coupled with a "planned and all embracing" approach to governance, as key to solving the racial problems, and advocates Government intervention and self-reliance as important in improving the African-Guyanese economic and social conditions. Kwayana makes the case that African-Guyanese villagers" claim to ancestral heritage in relation to land is no "airy-fairy dream, but is rooted in historical contributions.

The "Recommendations" section is most welcome. All the pieces in this section exhibit an appreciation of the urgency for solutions to stop the slide down the slippery slope of racial intolerance. But most importantly, they do what Thomas calls for in the opening piece - revisit the framework in which we approach race/ethnicity. Tacuma Ogunseye and Kampta Karran hit the nail on the head with their recommendations for racial parity in all areas of life, constitutional reform, and redress for Amerindians as key to national advance. Stressing the theme of unity of purpose, Karran calls for collective responsibility in the search for racial harmony and Ogunseye advocates a "memorandum of understanding" among the races.

The book, as one of this type tends to be, employs a broad brush. Apart from the opening section on theory, the impact of race on several other areas of life is discussed - the media, gender, economics, constitutionality, religion, language, culture, and labor. While this could prove somewhat distracting to the reader who tries to read the book as a cohesive text, its advantage lies in the fact that people of varying interests can find it useful. Despite that, however, the section on "Religion" seemed somewhat awkward; it does not fit with the tenor of the book.

As can be expected, there is a problem with continuity. While it is difficult to get that right in this kind of book, a slight reordering of the sections might have helped. For example the "Groups" section should have followed "Theories" as the former really is an historical and sociological overview of the various races in Guyana that the reader who is unfamiliar with the Guyana scene would find helpful in understanding the more specific pieces. Nevertheless, Race and Ethnicity must be read, both as a popular reader and academic tool.

(Georgetown: Offerings Publications, 2000), 270pp. ISBN: 10128239