Whenever Emancipation Day comes around, I can’t help thinking of the book that influenced me early in my academic career, Alan Adamson, “Sugar without Slaves: The Political Economy of British Guiana, 1834 – 1904,” New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972.
This book traces the contours of the freed slaves as they moved away from the plantation, build villages, only to find as Eric Williams wrote about Trinidad in his book, From Columbus to Castro, “The nineteenth century ended in nothing.” Adamson wrote; “The Negro was liberated from the plantation but he was not free to develop his own economy and culture.” Adamson documented the travails and agony of the freed slaves as they tried to erect an independent village economy. He details the horrendous obstacles placed in their way by the plantation owners to get them back on the sugar estates. Adamson describes the virtual destruction of the economy of the freed slaves by the white plantocracy.
Someone needs to write a book titled, “From Emancipation to Jagdeo: The political economy of the African Guyanese.” It will not be a pleasant historical compilation to read. The setbacks of the African economy in the past two decades has been so mountainous that very few sociologists in the Caribbean and Guyana would deny that the period in which the plantocracy put up obstacles to stop the birth of a village economy after Emancipation, closely resembles the political economy of the African Guyanese in 2013.
Long ago, knowledge was greatly enhanced by the collection of data. Advanced scientific methods were non-existent but previous generations long ago took great pains in compiling numbers. Statistics became one of the priceless tools in the advancement of knowledge. The compilation of statistics goes way back in history, and in the modern world, it guides every human being in understanding the social and scientific phenomena that impact on our lives.
If we want to know how many saw a movie, bought a record, visited a museum, prefer to read a particular newspaper over another, statistics provide the answer. Statistics tell us that right here in Guyana there are more suicides than in the rest of the world. Per capita, Black Bush Polder has a higher suicide rate than other parts of the world.
Any statistical analysis of the African economy in Guyana in 2013 would tell a dramatic story of decline and possible demise. Perhaps the strongest way to put it is that not since the plantocracy forced the freed slaves to go back on the plantations (as described in Adamson’s book), has the economy of African Guyanese been in more danger of dissolution than today.
It is interesting to note that the calls for ethnic balance in the security forces have been dramatically tailored off by Indian hegemonic activists. One possible reason for the intermission is that the advocates of this project fear a backlash. The role of the African Guyanese in the economy of their country is so razor thin that these hegemonic thinkers do not want to create an avalanche of demands by African rights activists for ethnic balance in other spheres of Guyana with the economy being the most visible sore point.
Statistics tell the reality of the political economy of the African Guyanese today. One suspects that without the access to statistics, the naked eyes can easily discern the ethnic imbalances in the most crucial spheres of life in Guyana today. One feels that it is so noticeable and commonplace that a commentator has no need to mention it. One can go so far and say that only an indecent mind would deny that these manifestations of ethnic imbalances do not exist.
When I was small, I heard the cynical joke that if you go in the countryside and want to know which villages were populated by East Indians and which by Africans, look at the state of the houses. I grew up, achieved manhood and heard that light remark among very educated people. Today, there is another factual joke making the rounds. If there is a football match on, look at the cars parked outside. If there is a chutney competition on a cricket ground, look at the SUVs parked outside.
This is the reality of life in Guyana. And its imprints are boldly emblazoned on the face of this nation. It tells the story of ethnic imbalances, marginalization of and the uncertainty in the African community today. It is the tale of sadness and tragedy when you think of the priceless and immeasurable contribution of the African Guyanese people to the success of this country. Surely historical wrongs cry out to be righted.