No Mrs. Teixeira, bringing back 1960s politics will not work
Dear Editor,
There have been several letters to the editor of Kaieteur News properly exposing the diplomatic dilemma in which the minority PPP Government and Ms. Pyria Manickchand found themselves. Our task is simple: to question what really Gail Teixeira meant when she mentioned “…Indian women in this country (Guyana) must know their place…” We condemned her derogatory remarks and the disparaging of Indo-Guyanese women. Shame on Ms. Teixeira for being so malicious and wicked!
This is not a trivial comment. It is one steeped and embedded in racist views that is presented with a deep and painful message to our Indian sisters as Apan Jhat politics of the 1960s. Yes, the PPP is caught here propagandizing with the barest of subtleness. The minority PPP regime has disarmed the PNC by taking away its most potent weapon—peaceful demonstrations—and now with the Rodney Commission. It is now trying to do the same to the AFC but they will not succeed because Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo will stop them dead in their tracks. They know the Freedom House bullies so well that they can read their actions like a book.
And what political technique they are using – Apan Jhat —which was used by Dr. Jagan more than 50 years ago to solidify the PPP Indian support base. But they are so dumb that they have failed to recognize that the leading lights in the AFC are Prakash Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo, both East Indians and thus when the AFC coined that name “Sitira” there was no intent at racism by these esteem gentlemen but much effort to expose the wild cuss down-behavior of certain people including the vulgar and abusive Minister of Education. It had nothing to do with the race of the person or Indian women.
However, there are some in the PPP who have it in their DNA to cuss down their opponents for tea, breakfast and dinner and this is the characteristic that the AFC leaders were alluding to. Sitira could also mean an Afro-Guyanese woman or someone any other ethnicity since it exposes a character, not a race. Ms. Teixeira, who is not a damsel, cannot be excused for making such ridiculous and racist statement. It shows that she is of a dying breed that is bent on using race-bait politics to divide Indo-and Afro-Guyanese.
But Ms Teixeira in her quest to advance the PPP’s Apan Jhat political ambitions threw caution to the wind and totally ignored the fact that some of the leading power players in the AFC are East Indians with East Indian wives having the name Sita.
The issue here is not “principal” but principle and Ms. Teixeira’s racist outburst against East Indian women by trying to mix them up with the fable “OH SITIRA” is not only silly but also infantile, foolish and insulting. This type of uncivilized and primitive thinking will not sit well with Indo-Guyanese women in the 21st century who are modern and civilized human beings and we are extremely proud of them.
We advise Ms. Texiera to read the valuable essay called “The Luxury of Integrity.” Integrity is defined as adherence to ethical and moral principles and one can never experience this luxury unless one practises it, not just when others are watching. Unfortunately, under the spotlight of NCN, Ms. Teixeira again pulls down her knitting for all to see how racist, bigoted and prejudicial she is and this attempt to return to the 1960s Apan Jhat politics has certainly backfired on the PPP. It may have worked in that period but it will not work in our modern Guyana society today. Just ask the rice farmers of Essequibo, the sugar workers in Berbice and all our beautiful and educated Indian mothers, wives sisters and aunts.
If Ms. Teixeira and the dictators at Freedom House do not believe us, just call any elections, local government or general elections.
Asquith Rose and Harish Singh