Dear Editor,
I’ve recently learned that a group of ‘hate’ preachers was allowed close access to students at Queen’s College and other city schools, according to videos the preachers posted on their Youtube channel.
The leader of this group has in the past said women should not speak in church, even just to say ‘Amen’, and he has been banned from three countries in Africa for ‘racial hatred’. I was shocked to hear this man was allowed in Guyanese schools. I looked him up on the internet and in just a few minutes found him disparaging other denominations and other faiths.
On the videos the preachers posted, they can be seen laughing at how easily they gained access to Guyana’s students. They said that North Georgetown Secondary was their favourite school because the acting principal had no idea who they were or that they were coming, but she let them preach anyway. According to the preacher in the video, “It’s just amazing that on the fly you could get the entire school and preach to them.” The reason the preacher is so surprised is that he knows that other countries would guard their students better.
The visit to Queen’s College was the most scandalous. The hate preachers claimed that they simply walked in and gained access to students one-on-one. One even boasted that he led teachers in prayer in the staffroom. Yet the dishonesty of these men is also on display in their video because the preacher tells of how a QC teacher confronted them and told them they should know they’re not allowed to preach in a government school and they pretended not to have known that. In the video they laugh about this too.
Then a senior member of staff, according to the preacher in question, came into the parking lot and granted them access. Is that the procedure for allowing access to QC students? A conversation in the parking lot? I’m sure the parents of the many Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, Seventh Day Adventist and other students condemned by the preachers would love to hear more from the QC authorities on why these men were allowed near their young sons and daughters.
The administrations of all the city schools involved and their supervisors must answer for their negligence.
Specifically, I would like to see them publicly address the following questions:
1: Who proposed and organised the visit? Through what channels did the request come?
2: What knowledge did administrators have of the hate preacher’s past?
3: What did they know about his agenda in visiting the school? Did they let him in not having a clue what he would preach about?
4: What background investigation did they do on him?
5: What policies do they have governing guest speakers at the school and were they followed?
6: Did they know about his bigotry in relation to other religions and his anti-woman views when they accepted him into their midst?
7: What did he say to the students and what materials did he distribute? What happened to the materials?
Editor, Guyanese youths already struggle with low self-esteem. We don’t need someone coming in to tell them to hate who they are. We don’t need someone to tell young girls their voices aren’t to be heard in worship. We don’t need someone to tell the vast number of our kids that their religion is demonic. We don’t need someone who perverts religion as a channel for his hatred.
These hate preachers have stated their intent to return to Guyana. We must have policies to prevent them spreading their poison.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
