Letter from Little Guyana: Apaan Jhaatists panicky as elections loom
By Paul Sanders
I’ve got the Shake My Head (SMH) syndrome.
Damn, this thing is worse than restless leg syndrome. My head does the “Oh, no!” nod so frequently I think it will fall off before the elections. SMH’s got me so giddy and dizzy I’m seeing ning-ning.
I blame Apaan Jhaat. This Apaan Jhaat is weird. Oh my! I see this philosophy undergoing some flamboyant metamorphosis- of all places – right here in Queens. Yeah, there is enough basement space in Queens for that too.
The best view of Apaan Jhaat is not from the balcony nor the front row; instead, it is from behind: after the incantations, after the bhagans; when the pooja concludes and devotees mingle with prasad and sweets, when mandir fashions and accessories become background noise; when the conversation about Guyana elections become more than a gossip and takes a trendy turn into the street ideology of memory and pain.
Bizarre stuff, man. Bizarre. Stuff with twisted logic that makes sense only to bitter and twisted people who spend their lives re-ordering the world and want everyone in it to conform.
That’s the Apaan Jhaat I’m talking about. Where heresy becomes the science of history. And pseudo second hand reports and anecdotal experience go through a certain embellishment and sanctify themselves as an authentic eyewitness record of history.
I heard a devotee relate convincingly how he knew that Fineman and Ramjattan had “arrangements” to destablise the country. That’s some sheet, eh?
Come to Queens, New York. You’d hear many stories of Indian victimhood. The stories of rigged elections, abuse of power, racial discriminations, employment victimization, police brutality; hooliganism, thuggery, food lines, gas lines, blackouts, and all the really bad stuff of human sufferings.
The chief victimizer is, of course, Forbes Burnham. King Kong. The fella who banned food items special to East Indians and their religious rituals, the fella whose rein is marked by “kick down the door” bandits, and House of Israel thugs. And to top if off: a constitution that made him king.
I drank a beer at a Richmond Hill rumshop (they call it a lounge … huh!) with old acquaintances, and overheard the chatter about Burnham again. I found something quite interesting about my peeps. It’s so easy to talk about Burnham in a stupor, in an all East Indian enclave.
No need for hush-hush whisperings. Just loud enough, just intense enough to fill the room with menace. The racism comes across with so much ease, with so much majesty, without pain, without scrutiny. And the hating takes on a life of its own, reinforcing ethnocentric rancour, primal instincts.
I thought of Rwanda. It was the same way the vehement talk developed, harnessed by political and tribal leaders until neighbours and friends descended into the murderous rage called genocide.
Can East Indians handle a race war? I wondered. This “Burnham” talk is not just about Burnham; it’s about “dem black people.” I lost balance; the SMH attack was in full swing. An Indo Guyanese friend gave comfort, confiding to me that many of my Indo brothers here are undocumented; that they made the backtrack journey long after Burnham died.
He reiterated some numbers: that 4 out of 5 Guyanese leaving the country are East Indians; that most of the folks at the long line at the US embassy in Georgetown are East Indians, Trinidad and Tobago is being over run over run by illegal Guyanese, many of them East Indians; that Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curacao are flooded with thousands of Guyanese tradesmen, mostly East Indians.
I’m asked to keep things in perspective; most of these fathers left their family behind to search for jobs and survival while their families depend on Western Union to deliver remittances.
This aggregation of misfortune happened during 23 years of PPP’s proletarian revolution in which the working class- again, mainly East Indians in the sugar and rice industry – played the hegemonic role. Yes, the PPP began running things since 1992 when democracy was “restored.” Remember?
Yet, with a full conscience, most of them readily blame Burnham for the exodus. And for the current mess Guyana is in. That is what Apaan Jhaat needs to breed- nonsense and a good dose of hypocrisy.
The premise is that East Indians belong to the PPP. That East Indians’ birthright is their loyalty to the PPP. That the PPP has monopoly on East Indians. That race matters.
That is why the one-man brawl and mad demogogue named Bharrat Jagdeo can find it so easy to tap into these irrationalities. That is why it is so convenient for the PPP to demonize, stigmatize East Indians who challenge the madness of the ruling cabal, placing them in the class of “Nemakaram.”
We saw that same story played out in the placards carried by the anti-Nagamootoo protestors in Queens this Spring. We continue to hear the same dirty, Hindi remarks reserved for those East Indians who have joined the movement to clean up Guyana.
I am reminded of the stone scam, milk scam, gold scam, law books scam, the remigrant duty-free vehicle scam, the wildlife scam, the Amaila road project, Skeldon sugar factory, the Specialty hospital, et al; many of the main players- East Indians of the ruling clique- strategically placed to accomodate corrupt practices and self enrichment. Unsavory characters with names like Fip Motilall, Kellawan Lall, Ronald Gajraj, Roger Khan, Leslie Ramsammy ….. too many to list.
This election is not about the PPP’s 23 years of achievements. The party has nothing to boast about. Nothing.. But this doesn’t bother the East Indians of Little Guyana. Apaan Jhat is not about right or wrong, good or evil; it is about tribalism. It has nothing to do with humanity. It represents the greatest danger from smaller minds. It supercedes failure or success. It is bigger than the Transparency International report, bigger than the Corruption Index, bigger than world opinion, numbers, statistics, facts or history.
This election is about Apaan Jhaat. The PPP is leaving no stone unturned, scrambling like mad with massive, absurd racial appeals in the East Indian enclaves, begging for the Apaan Jhaat votes.
The rulers in Guyana are running scared. The Apaan Jhaatists in New York City are getting panicky; agitated at the prospect of a failing racist campaign.
Here and back home the idea of one Guyana; the real possibility of multi-racial politics is one big migraine headache. But there is relief : May 11, 2015.
