In many ways, President Ali’s visit to Brooklyn exposed all of the raw pain and anguish which Afro-Guyanese continue to endure in Guyana. Although many believe that the president used his office to manipulate many of the players involved in his visit, it was still painful for, especially Guyanese at home, to witness what was perceived to be ‘Diaspora folk’, upon whom they depend to fight the PPP, seemingly coddling Irfaan Ali, a man who continues to bring misery and suffering to Afro-Guyanese people in Guyana.
Guyanese are not often people to whom verbal appreciation comes naturally, so we are not going to communicate to the diaspora how appreciative we are for their intervention and their willingness to stand and fight the oppressive PPP government. In many homes, it is easier for a parent to prepare a child’s favorite meal after a blow-up, rather than apologize, so taking responsibility is not easy in a tiny society like Guyana where historically, owning up to wrong could make you an outcast, or worse, result in your death. So it is not shocking that in this situation we failed to honestly articulate the hurt that the seeming embrace of alleged Guyanese dictator Irfaan Ali has caused Afro-Guyanese everywhere. When we are hurt, we lash out and so we find ourselves today, further divided by a man, whose sole intention when he visited Brooklyn was to divide. We must not let him win.
I will state again that Afro-Guyanese cherish the strong intervention of the Diaspora. Not only do we appreciate the more than $500M USD the Diaspora sends home annually but it must be stated that people like Burke, Benschop, Hinds, Melly Mel, and many others, who speak truth into the faces of those who abuse Africans at home, is a source of great strength for Black people in Guyana and so it is in this context that people felt disappointment and fear when President Ali was unquestioningly entertained in the Brooklyn Afro-Guyanese community, and seemingly allowed to escape without answering some seriously tough questions. We must also recognize that there were people present, like Bonita Montague, who attempted to question Ali, but who found themselves silenced by the visit organizers.
To be clear, President Ali is free to walk into any community here or in the United States. Black people are the most welcoming of ethnic groups, we will entertain and have a drink with the devil himself, if he presents as charming. Be reminded however, that it was Bharrat Jagdeo who told the Guyanese people to “chase them when they come to your community”, he was referring to APNU politicians.
It is important to emphasize that Black people, as indeed, all people everywhere should enjoy the freedom of association. Some groups however, choose not to associate with those people who are responsible for racism and degradation of their brothers and sisters and would never entertain such interlopers, no matter how charming. African people tend to prioritize magnanimity, courtesy and friendliness towards the powerful, perhaps it is a skill we have had to hone for our very survival.
To be clear, a boycott is a perfectly acceptable form of action against supporters of oppressive regimes no matter what race or ethnicity they are, but it is my view that a boycott is NOT warranted in this situation. Let Aubrey Norton or Amanza Walton-Desir, or Roysdale Forde, walk about in a certain Queens neighborhood known to be a PPP stronghold and into a few restaurants and those community members will demonstrate for all of us, just how one must deal with politicians who visit communities for photo opportunities. I posit that they would be ignored. They would be treated like any other customer.
President Ali is not known to be a man of substance and his visit to Brooklyn was not serious, it was an ‘in your face’ visit, indeed, Guyana’s Prime Minister Mark Phillips is noted on Facebook laughing and joking and ‘spiking the ball’ and stating that “the boycott didn’t work”. Mark Phillips is neither brilliant nor well advised.
African people are not a monolith. We are a heterogeneous people and descendants of different tribes but the one thing we should all agree on is the need to end the evils of racism. There is no question that we should all agree that the PPP government has practiced organized, structural, pervasive racism against Afro-Guyanese citizens, resulting in disenfranchisement, loss of work, dispossession of land, extrajudicial killings, and lack of government contracts and for this, they must be forced to yield. They must be forced to cease, to step back, to remedy and to allow equal access to justice and opportunity for all in Guyana.
African people may not be a monolith but we are a brilliant and beautiful and resilient people, who in the face of egregious wrongs, continue to overcome and thrive and to oppressors, this is scary. We as African people must take pride in how far we have come. We must make a stand against injustice in Guyana however. We owe it to our children and their children’s children.