For the record, I am still an Executive Member of the AFC.
I was introduced to politics at age 4 when my family returned from East Germany to Guyana by my father. He took me to Freedom House before I could speak English and enrolled me as a Pioneer. Later I would join the PYO and then the PPP proper. My father himself was introduced to politics at age 8 by my aaja (my paternal grandfather) in 1946 when the PAC (the precursor to the PPP) was formed. My aaja was the foreman for Kitty and would open the market for PAC meetings. My dad would sit on my aaja's shoulders and listen to the meetings, and in turn put me on his shoulders when I was 8 to listen to Dr Walter Rodney at Bourda.
My father always kept my eyes on the prize of a united Guyana. He told me of when he campaigned for Forbes Burnham in 1953 and how the term Apaan Jhat was coined by a pro-Indian politician who opposed the PPP, and who was fighting in that constituency. He told me of the unity of the people at the time and how much it hurt him when the PPP split in 1955.
And even though he fought the PNC since then and I did since 1976, he never forgot his dream of a united Guyana. He kept me grounded and did his best to stop any hatred for the "blackman" from seeping into my psyche. He knew what at some at Freedom House would tell me and so he told me of the atrocities committed by Indians in the 60s. He also told me of an incident in 1962 when Freedom House was mobbed and people inside brought out guns to shoot the protesters, but Dr Jagan told them to use slingshots instead, telling them that they were their brothers and sisters being misled.
And so while I spent most of my life fighting the PNC, I was never taught to hate them. In fact, my dad and I believed in Dr Jagan's promise of a broad-based Gov't in 1992 to the extent that we thought PNC people would be invited to join. We were deeply disappointed when that Gov't was comprised mostly of party hacks, the unfortunate results of which we so clearly see today.
After Dr Jagan died and things turned around 180 degrees, my dad and I had no compunction joining the AFC which with its PNC and PPP elements represented a return to the pre-1955 PPP. And so today, I feel the same way about the prospect of an APNU/AFC coalition. Such a coalition would be even more representative of the pre-1955 PPP than the AFC.
Of course, the lesson learnt from 1992 is that our national problems are not solved by the simple removal of a Gov't. Therefore, should a coalition arise, it must not be with the sole aim of removing the PPP, but of permanently transforming Guyana's political landscape by committing to and engaging in Constitution, Electoral and Security Sector reform among other things.
I hope that persons can now gain an insight into the politics of my dad and I. We were introduced to it as children and so all we knew was to fight for what's right without thought of position or reward. This is what informed and guided our struggle, the same struggle I am continuing in the name of my son.
