A post-colonial society − comprising descendants of enslaved and indentured immigrant labourers from Africa, Asia and Europe and indigenous people of the Americas – Guyana is still striving to recover from the scourge of social discord. Economic expropriation, political exclusion, social segregation and other notorious practices of British colonisation lacerated the nation.
Revolts, riots, disorder and the ‘Disturbances’ in the immediate pre-independence period ignited intimidation to partition the country in 1964 by the People’s Progressive Party. The ‘Troubles’ of the post-independence period seriously hampered national integration and social cohesion.
Former President David Granger, speaking on the programme – The Public Interest – recalled that Guyana became independent under a ‘state of emergency’ in the aftermath of the PPP’s murderous ‘Hurricane of Protest’ campaign.
Large sections of the population were discouraged even from celebrating Independence and the new national symbols – anthem, emblems, festivals, flag, motto, monument and patriotic songs – were disparaged.
Mr. Granger pointed out that extraordinary efforts had to be exerted to foster a more socially-cohesive nation that “…works towards the well-being of its members, fights exclusion and marginalisation, creates a sense of belonging, promotes trust and offers its members the opportunity of upward mobility”.
Progress was eventually made by establishing the ministerial Department of Social Cohesion; conducting Social Cohesion consultations; promulgating a Strategic Plan for Enhancing and Promoting Social Cohesion; celebrating Social Cohesion Day to appreciate people’s different cultures and mainstreaming the ‘social cohesion idea’ in national policy.
Mr. Granger warned, however, that, from the outset, the People’s Progressive Party denounced the ‘social cohesion idea’ as ‘a farce’ and fought relentlessly against practical efforts to disseminate the doctrine. The Party’s Central Committee and 31st Congress resolved to destroy the ‘social cohesion idea’; condemned the establishment of the Department of Social Cohesion; criticised Social Cohesion and boycotted official Social Cohesion consultations. The Party, instead, proclaimed the fictional ‘Corridor of Unity’ and promised, since February 2021, to establish a chimerical ‘One Guyana Commission’ in an attempt to re-invent the ‘one Guyana’ notion.
The PPP’s hostility towards the ‘social cohesion idea’, sadly, opened the floodgates to civil violence and public disorder – such as the vulgar invasion of the GMSA ceremony on 19th September 2019, the stoning of a children’s school bus and a series incidents including of orchestrated street riots by PPP activists in rural areas in the aftermath of General and Regional 2020 on 6th March 2020.
Occasional outbreaks of disorder occurring over the past fifty months – including police violence; political partiality in directing state services and infrastructure to ‘red’ villages and ignoring ‘green’ villages and thwarting opportunities to seek consensual solutions to the country’s cleavages – are indicative not of cohesion but of deepening divisions.
The former president cautioned that the current unhappy, unsatisfactory and unsettled situation is a consequence of the PPP’s hostility to the ‘social cohesion idea’ over a long period. Social cohesion would require a sense of common purpose and shared destiny. High emigration rates suggest that citizens are losing their faith in ever attaining a good life in this country owing to high levels of inequality and insecurity.
A low quality of life impairs citizens’ happiness and erodes the bonds of trust in society. The nation’s security, stability, solidarity and sovereignty depend on citizens’ adhesion to the ‘social cohesion idea’. Civil society and political parties should seek to work together to reduce tensions and create conditions for ‘social cohesion idea’ to flourish.
Clever catch phrases cannot correct the ‘root causes’ of inequality and disunity. Shibboleths cannot eradicate social antagonism. Iterating simplistic slogans such as ‘One Guyana Commission’ and ‘Corridor of Unity’ are insufficient to rebuild trust and create a socially cohesive state.