| by Karen de Souza, Coordinator, For Red Thread |
| Like
a lot of others in the society, the women of Red Thread feel trapped and imprisoned
by the violence taking over the country, and by our awareness that there is a
lot we don't know: which of the violence is intended to make a political case,
which is straight crime of a general kind, which has to do with drugs. But some
things are already clear and like other Guyanese we want to call them out: First of all, we condemn the cowardice of men who 'lead' from behind - who lie and twist the truth to control and manipulate the rage of others - usually poor people - from behind the scenes, without coming up front, or who lead their followers into death traps and then run. What makes this worse is to listen to those who are dealing in excuses for all that happened on Wednesday, July 3. Second, we condemn all the violence of July 3, and especially the violence against women; this includes the reported violence used by the police in breaking up the tent outside the Prime Minister's house, during which mainly women, including at least one elderly woman, were hurt. We don't know whether the tent was 'legal' or 'illegal', but as we understand it, it was not violent. Those citizens who are welcoming police violence against all protest, must realize that if we tolerate violence against peaceful protest there will be no incentive for protesters to be peaceful. And all of us have a right and duty to protest when we see ourselves unjustly treated. However, our main purpose in writing this letter is to condemn out of hand the racial attacks against Indo-Guyanese and some others on Wednesday, similar to those during other 'protest' actions: the robberies, the beatings, the verbal abuse. Several of us, Afro and Indo Guyanese, went to the car parks on Wednesday afternoon after the violence broke out-some of us seeking transport ourselves, others to observe and to try to help women who were stranded-and this is what we saw: Afro-Guyanese women who were nervous and apprehensive, and Indo-Guyanese women who were terrified. Individually and together we have said this before: in every war, the usual kind of abuse and violence, often sexual in nature that is used against women is multiplied. In Guyana, right now, Indo-Guyanese women are being targeted for that kind of violence. Whoever we are, of whatever race, we have to stop turning a blind eye to this. The issue now is not whether or not there is justice in the cause of the war. The issue is that there is no justice in how it is being executed. <<< Page X Page X>>> |
| July 25, 2002 |
| [Editor's Note: This article was published in Guyana's primary newspapers in letter form on July 9, and released by The Red Thread Group, one of Guyana's leading civil organizations and a leading feminist group. We urge the reader to also read the 1998 report issued by GIFT Foundation (with support from Guyana's major religious institutions), on the ethnic violence that occurred after the 1997 general elections. This report is under the headline Civil Disorder-January 1998, under the Security Section of our Home Page.] |
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2001 Guyanaundersiege.com |