Dear Editor,
I refer to the letter titled “ It is ironic that Green a beneficiary of the ‘divide and rule’ strategy is now cautioning against it” dated March 9, 2021 written by Harry Hergash and published in Stabroek News. To the many assumptions, and I sincerely believe misunderstanding of the whole gamut of events, personalities that existed in the height, and may I add the heat of the Post World War II Cold War, Hergash has drifted like an Easter kite in our tropical winds and has lost touch with reality. One should also take account of the former imperial power, Great Britain as it relates to the Independence struggle and the determination by European powers to exercise control over the resources and more importantly, the thinking of us colonials. I make that brief observation in response to his unsubstantiated and ridiculous statement that I am a beneficiary of the ‘divide and rule’ policy.
The insinuation is clear but let me state fearlessly that for many of us who took part in the effort to gain Independence and I began as a teenager, it required tenacity and skill to understand the genesis of imperial strategy and the tactics of local colonial administrators. Tutored by my two earlier political icons, Cheddi B. Jagan and L.F.S. Burnham, along with others, we had to traverse the turbulent and treacherous territory of a divide and rule policy. At a recent talk, I sought to explain the history of Guyana and the different contributions of our co-called six races.
Divide and rule has a very deep and historical significance. During slavery, when some of the enslaved Africans ran away from the plantations, the Europeans used our Amerindian brothers to capture them and bring them back dead or alive. When this became cumbersome, the Amerindians were paid a substantial sum to bring back the severed right hand of a slave. A classic earlier example of ‘divide and rule.’
I am a proud descendant of that slave and apart from my early teachings by my parents, I understood the importance of harmony of all races and classes. Clearly to state that I am a beneficiary of ‘divide and rule’ is preposterous. If the writer knows even a portion of our social history, if he is a Guyanese, and I assume he is, he would know that we are all victims, not beneficiaries of the divide and rule policy. It is known, for example, that this imperial policy of divide and rule was practiced as a fine art throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa and India. We are all victims of divide and rule and my contention is that every Guyanese everywhere should study and understand what in essence a tradition became. I urge that we all be true and faithful to the sentiments expressed in the Song of the Republic written by Cleveland Hamilton and music by Frank Daniels which says, “Unyielding in our quest for peace, like ancient heroes brave. To strive and strive and never cease; with strength beyond the slave.”
The other issue of significance raised in his letter has to do with Elections 2020. We can for the moment ignore the arguments as used in his letter dealing with the interpretation of our laws and application of constitutional niceties. It is obvious to anyone that if you go into any election, be it national elections, some company elections, the elections of a sports club, if the list used is unverifiable or as was in the case in 2020, clearly bloated then we are building a purported democratic structure on a fragile and unreliable foundation. Those who analyzed the list used in 2020 showed beyond the shadow of a doubt that Guyana’s adult population could not have increased so dramatically within a few short years. I need not burden this letter with details but the circulated statement by Stanley Ming has never been and could not be challenged.
I will leave the snide remarks and the attack on some of our leaders for another place and time.
Save to advise the writer Harry Hergash, if he is truly interested in Guyana, I can secure an invitation for him to attend and take part in a series of lectures hosted by the Georgetown District and kept in the Covid-19 friendly safe and open air environment of my residence, Plot ‘D’ Lodge.
I hope he genuinely seeks knowledge, so that his writings will be accurate and show intellectual depth, and qualities. For his benefit, I quote this from the English Philosopher and Physician John Locke “Knowledge being to be had only of visible and certain truth, error is not a fault of our knowledge, but a mistake of our judgement, giving accent to that which is not true.”
Sincerely,
Hamilton Green
