Posted January 31st. 2008

It’s difficult to talk politics to families and communities mourning loved ones mowed down by a phenomenon that has become a staple in Guyana--political madness. To the bereaved families I again offer my condolences. To the East Indian community I offer solidarity. The magnitude of your loss and the gruesomeness of the slayings say something about how far down the road to social disintegration Guyana has traveled.

As difficult as it is to talk politics at this time, it cannot and should not be avoided. These recent murders are as political as most of the murders since 2002. The bloodletting since 2002 continued as we campaign for elections, chatted about democracy and power sharing, built stadiums and mansions, withheld monies for education, disciplined opponents for challenging the anointed, brushed aside the evil of torture, wrote brilliant editorials, denied advertisements to perceived detractors, welcomed ethnic vigilantes as saviors and acted as historical enemies.

As a nation we have learned nothing from our history or the history of others. We have become a sicker nation each passing day. The gunmen who carried out the attacks did so because as a nation we have rendered ourselves too helpless in the face of racial imperatives. We can continue to self-destruct and kill ourselves out of civilized existence, or we can reach for something better. We can continue to live on the illusion of Indian and African superiority or reach for Indian-African solidarity and racial equality. We can continue to murder our children in the name of power or empower our lives to rise to the challenge healing. In the end only our collective will to rise above petty racism will save Guyana.

David Hinds lectures in Caribbean and African Diaspora Studies at Arizona State University in the USA. His writings on Politics in Guyana and the Caribbean can be found on his GuyanaCaribbeanPolitics.com website.