I wish to respond in these pages to a recent missive entitled “When the carnage was instigated by a PPP Minister and the Phantom group, people sought solace in North America ” by Mr. Hamilton Green, a former Prime Minister. Now, it would be easy for one to glance at such a headline and simply write it off as degenerate political pandering (which it is). However, this dangerous, false rhetoric has been used as a mobilization tool before, preying on the instincts of fear. It is the civic duty of every right thinking Guyanese to respond to such misinformation condignly when it rears its ugly head for the benefit of the young generation and those yet to come.
In his missive, the writer states: “Records would show that during the PPP Government, 1957 – 1964, large numbers of Guyanese, Indo and Afro moved to the United States, a sprinkling settling in the Caribbean and even Surinam. This movement north continued unabated until this day.” He continues with the following: “When the carnage was instigated by a PPP Minister and the Phantom group, people sought solace in North America. Today, this northern drift continues.” By choosing to focus on 1957-1964, then suddenly somersaulting into the early 2000s, the writer is doing a grave disservice by conveniently excluding the entire 1964-1992 period, literally leaving out nearly three decades of history in the process. But why make such a time jump without any semblance of an explanation? Agenda. Agenda. Agenda.
Indeed, it is true that large numbers of Guyanese moved to the US during the late 50s to early 60s. But the writer deliberately neglects to mention the turbulent state of affairs which precipitated this migration. Additionally, it is now on public record that Forbes Burnham was on the CIA’s payroll, colluding with foreign powers to force out Dr. Cheddi Jagan from office during this same time period, through intense violent unrest which plunged the country into chaos. I urge Mr. Green to refer to declassified CIA documents from this time period.
One such memorandum from the Treasury Committee, Washington from 1969 states: “Prime Minister Forbes Burnham of Guyana, who has previously received covert assistance from CIA, requested that the agency provide $10,000 a month for two years to support his ef orts to build his party, the People’s National Congress, into an ef ective, permanently organized political party.” To this date, there has been no response from the Learned Elder on this revelation. One can only wonder why.
Further, from 1964 to 1992, the period which Mr. Green omitted, saw Guyana amassed one of the highest debt burdens on Planet Earth at that time, a whopping 900% of revenue was used to service debt instead of build the country. Essential staples such as flour and split peas were banned, followed by Gestapo-like police searches of households for aforementioned items. Our purchasing power was obliterated for those who were fixed income earners. This younger generation will not remember when Carl Greenidge walked into Parliament in 1987 to announce the infamous “ten to one” devaluation of the Guyana dollar. The streets were filled with renditions of the Mighty Sparrow’s popular “Ten To One Is Murder” tune. Our country became stagnant. This was no land of opportunity, and instead we became the black sheep of the Caribbean. Guyana literally became the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, falling right below Haiti. This was confirmed in the McIntyre report which publicly advocated for “a restoration of confidence in the ability of the Government to manage the economy and share its benefits widely”. In addition to rigged elections, state sponsored terrorism saw the murders of Dr. Walter Rodney, Father Darke as well as the Ballot Box Martyrs. An aura of hopelessness and despair permeated all across the land. Yet these facts have seemingly eluded Mr. Green in his sanctimonious emanations.
Moreover, the “Phantom killings” he speaks of is another age-old, long debunked bogeyman that Green and his cabal consistently resurrect. The Stabroek News comprehensively debunked the nonsensical, racist claim that the PPP government “killed 400 Afro Guyanese men”. The period 2002 to 2008 saw countless persons from all walks of life killed during the crime wave. This included Indo Guyanese men, women and children. The Lusignan and Bartica Massacres come to mind. Countless law enforcement officers were also gunned down by bandits heralded as “Freedom Fighters” by the then Opposition. It is widely accepted that failing politicians pull all sorts of gimmicks out of their backsides as elections approach, so it’s unsurprising that Green and co. have resorted to this desperate fearmongering tactic yet again. Disappointing, yet unsurprising. I trust the pending COI will exhaustively put this issue to rest.
Our country is on the rise. Guyana’s political culture is metamorphosing as we speak. A new political culture is emerging, based on Democracy, National Unity and TRUTH. This young generation is developing political consciousness and rejecting the fossilized fear based tactics of the past. This was evident in the President’s warm welcome in Brooklyn as well as the subsequent “boycott” being rejected. Now desperate, political hacks are once again trying to distort our history to drive wedges amongst our people.
A new day is looming on the horizon. “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”…these words that have served as our national motto, are now manifesting into reality. Those who stoke the last embers of racism are relics of the past and in the past they shall remain!