Dear Editor,
I attended two meetings at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in June-July 2010 on the UN Year for People of African Descent. These were formative meetings with the Minister present and were chaired by Dr Rose, whom I know well. The Minister declared that this would not be a government ‘agenda’ but rather one that we evolved. What transpired in the meetings was a preamble on format. I voiced to some participating members why the Ministry of Culture was overseeing this event; that it was not in ACDA’s view a ‘drum and dance’ activity. There was no member of the Ministry of Education, Home Affairs, Ministry of Legal Affairs or anyone from the local government or the parliamentary parties which represented African Guyanese there. I felt that the government posture on representation was at the very least ambiguous.
I cannot remember at which of the two meetings the following occurred. At one meeting Allan Fenty entered and declared that he was not an African, but he was here, and that he didn’t understand why there was a year for Africans; he was ignored. I then voiced the personal view that it must be taken into consideration that this event was going to occur during an election year and the history of the party in government up to the present was one of hostility towards African Guyanese. I received no response. The other question I raised was who was financing the activities of the year. The Minister and Dr Rose each gave the meeting two different answers, one, the UN; two, the Guyana Government. Lennox King raised that the pressing issue of African Guyanese ancestral lands (post-emancipation) had to be on the agenda. Mr Fenty asserted that it was the very Minister Anthony who was in the parliamentary forefront in defeating this motion when it was raised by the opposition in Parliament. My final reflection on the meeting was that it was constructed towards a specific outcome that differed in concept from the concerns of many of the groups we were in communication with.
I still cannot rationalize how and why, and on what grounds Mayor Green became involved and collaborated, if the PNC itself was not officially invited.
Yours faithfully,
Barrington Braithwaite
