Posted June 30th. 2004 - Special Feature by David Hinds

Don't fight Indians, fight the system

Not for the first time Mr. Anann Boodram has identified me as the ringleader of a cabal that beats the African Guyanese discrimination drum at every twist and turn (Stabroek News, June 28). He says in his opening sentence that I am "beginning to sound like a broken record," implying that he is responding to something I recently wrote or said. Since he does not identify any article or letter, I am at a loss as to what he is referring, especially since I have not written anything in the Stabroek News since the middle of May when I wrote on Power Sharing and CARICOM. The last time I dealt with the issue of African Guyanese marginalization was in August-September 2002, so I am assuming that Mr. Boodram is referring to those pieces. Luckily, they are posted on my website, so Mr. Boodram can visit and see whether what is written there bears any resemblance to what he accuses me of.

But for the benefit of the public, here is a quote from a letter to the Stabroek News (September 6 2002) that lays out my views on discrimination and marginalization.

"Is there a Black middle class? Yes. But that is a very small exception to the larger rule. Are the vast majority of Indians marginalized? Yes. Are Africans not marginalized because Indians are equally poor? No. Indian poverty does not negate African marginalization. Some see the statement of African marginalization as an indictment of East Indians. On this score, they are at one with the African extremists. If Indians have had more access to economic opportunities and the political power structures, that is the function of history and location, and in the case of politics, population size.

Insofar as the members of the PPP government deliberately discriminate against or alienate Africans, I think they do so because Africans support the political rival. This is standard political behavior in the Third World, but in the case of Guyana, the racial element translates it into an explosive device. But the PPP does not have to overtly discriminate against Blacks; it presides over a system that facilitates covert and overt discrimination of the downpressed. Insofar as the PPP continues to hold on to this system in the name of democracy, then it faces the charge of "democratically" marginalizing Blacks. But the truth is that the PPP is merely presiding over the marginalization of Blacks as previous regimes have done.

The charge that my attempt to explain African marginalization fuels black rage does not fly. To the contrary, it is the continued chorus that denies African marginalization that fuels the rage. It is arrogance of the highest order when the elite of your race group holds the levers of power and you insist on telling those who feel individual and collective pain resulting from the system that they are not hurting, that they are feigning pain. You are only angering them more. I don't have to tell Africans they are marginalized; they know it because they experience it every day.

Dr. Jagan knew this when he said that blacks were at the bottom of the ladder. In a 1988 speech, he said: "What needs to be done is a recognition of the racial problem and the implementation of certain reforms. Apart from constitutional guarantees, these should include a Race Relations Board, an equal opportunity law, fair employment practices, and affirmative action as in the United States." I rest my case.

Some Black extremists are saying Africans are marginalized, Indians are in government and are marginalizing Blacks, and Indians came to Guyana after Blacks. So they say, with gun in hand, that Indians must be removed from power.

I reject that view. I say Blacks are marginalized by a system. Blacks must fight to change the system; they must fight for the implementation of mechanisms, which will facilitate their freedom from marginalisation. Don't fight Indians, fight injustice, and there are many peaceful means still left to do so."

Why Mr. Boodram persists in linking me to his cabal of anti-Indian African advocates of "mind-boggling and inflammatory lingo," I don't know. African Guyanese have not appointed me as one of their spokespersons nor have I appointed myself such. While I have never ran away from my Africanesss and will always defend African dignity and right to equality in Guyana and elsewhere, I don't agree with much of the current African Guyanese ideologies, including the prevalent marginalization theories. Largely because of these public disagreements, those who legitimately and not so legitimately speak for African Guyanese don't have any use for me. I have been referred to by this group as "Afro Saxon," "Erstwhile friend" and one who "ran away" and is afraid of African "revolt." So much for Mr. Boodram's "David Hinds et al."

Does Mr Boodram suffer from the disease of " All Black people who criticize the present government are anti-Indian African extremists?" Well Sir I belong to that group of Africans who stood up to an African government when it crossed the line. And I feel no shame in standing up to an Indian government which has crossed the line, because for me unfair and poor governance go beyond race.

Therefore, no amount of race baiting and misrepresentation of what I say and write will silence me. When some think you are anti Indian/pro African and others think you are anti African/pro Indian, then you are on your way out of racial prison. David Hinds

David Hinds lectures in Caribbean and Africana Studies at Arizona State University in the USA. He is also a political and social commentator who has written extensively on Guyana and Caribbean politics. More of his writings can be found on his GuyanaCaribbeanPolitics.com website.