Dear Editor,
I refer to a letter by Abu Bakr (‘Guyana should be a collection of groups defining themselves in ways which include but are not limited to race,’ SN, August 1) in which he gave the following opinion, “Fazeel Ferouz, the CIOG leader, may be like many Muslims cited as a case of leader of a post racial group …Muslim groups in this country have done as much as Christians to reach out to members of the other race.”
I had cause in a previous letter to point out to Mr Bakr that his distance from Guyana limits his knowledge of who is who and what takes place in Guyana. I think he should not only be careful but wise enough to reflect on some of the statements he makes on what takes place in this country. I offer two examples.
Mr Bakr referred to Vishnu Bisram as a respected pollster. Surely, he should know that such wrong information can hurt his own credibility. No one in Guyana from one end of this country to the other holds the view that Mr Bisram is a credible pollster, much less a respected one. My own writings in the two independent dailies over a ten-year period have exposed Mr Bisram. As a matter of policy, the two independent dailies do not carry the findings his so-called surveys as news, but allow him to publish same in the letter pages.
Secondly, Mr Bakr wrote recently that he is not aware of the existence of the Cuffy 250 Committee. This is a committed African rights organization quite active in Guyana over the past three years and holds a bi-weekly education forum and community meetings. I have been an invited speaker at many of these symposia, in one instance as recently as last week.
These are innocent mistakes by Mr Bakr, but if they go on I honestly think it will curtail his influence among readers. I come now to the third lapse and I must confess I find this one egregious. I live in Guyana where I keep a meticulous eye on what goes on and I have to confess I don’t know about Mr Fazeel Ferouz being a post-racial person.
From my perspective, Mr Ferouz heads a religious organization, the CIOG. Mr Ferouz was a close confidante of former President Jagdeo and still is. The CIOG was a strategic partner with the Guyana government and others in hosting a Day of Appreciation for then President Jagdeo. The CIOG speakers also graced the podium. Mr Ferouz travelled with Mr Jagdeo on official overseas visits. The CIOG is one of the founding members of the Indian Arrival Committee.
The number of Black Guyanese Muslims in the CIOG is very small. African Guyanese see the CIOG as a political organization linked to the PPP. Christian churches (I am not a Christian nor Hindu or anything else) are more multi-racial. I close with an assertion that neither Mr Ferouz nor the CIOG are post-racial.
Yours faithfully,
Frederick Kissoon
