Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner has expressed his strong views on the "ethnic cleansing" debate that's making the rounds in public discussions in Trinidad and Tobago calling it part of the politics of divide and rule.
In an email from Nigeria where he is on official FIFA business, Warner said it is the type of discussion that "confuses the past, threatens our future and creates an uneasiness with the present at a time when we as a nation should be finding ways to bond together as one to fight against the evil that is scourging our landscape."
Warner's comments were prompted by the Pandora's box that Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh opened when he charged that the government of Trinidad and Tobago was engaged in "ethnic cleansing" at the Port of Spain General Hospital and statements made by Prof. Selwyn Cudjoe suggesting that an ethnic imbalance in the country creates "turbulent times" for people of African origin.
Read the story: Cudjoe warns of "negative future" for people of African origin
Related: Gopeesingh stands by "ethnic cleansing" charge
Warner said he will not be a party to any such divisive discussion. "I am not going to participate in any discourse relating to African discrimination as heralded by Professor Selwyn Cudjoe because I believe that peace in any society is not predicated on unity in similarity but rather unity in diversity in the comparison and conciliation of differences."
He added that he will also not be drawn into and participate in any discussion on "ethnic cleansing", suggesting that it "reflects a politics of hate and mischief against which the Platform for Change stands."
Warner said, "As leaders, we should attempt to make every opportunity the perfect opportunity to help our communities celebrate human unity and the diversity of the human race rather than allow our differences to become an excuse for racial separation."
He said national leaders must avoid every situation that provides the opportunity "for us to fuel the fires of discord in our country."
He said the country already have enough real problems. "When I look at the crime situation, criminal activity does not discriminate based on race, age, sex, status or any of the divides; we are all victims," he said.
"When I visit communities that are impoverished, I am convinced that poverty is not just the lot of Indians or Africans but rather the lot of both Indians and Africans.
"Indians, Africans, Chinese, Syrians all live in this beautiful country and it is time we stop discriminating against each other on the basis of ethnicity and race and join hands to determine better ways to build a stronger Trinidad and Tobago," The Chaguanas MP said.
He urged leaders, politicians and the nation to stop seeing race in every wrong thing that is done, saying it must start with the country's leaders.
"We must understand that discretion is the better part of valour and rather than persist along the path of sowing seeds of hate and discord, we need to demonstrate a greater strength of character by sowing the seeds that will build a great Trinidad and Tobago.
"I am not like the proverbial ostrich with my head buried deep into the sand. I know we have problems but rather than fuel it, the Platform for Change looks for solutions.
"Our hope is for us to come together as one embracing not only shared beliefs and values, but acknowledging our differences in ways that promote respect and appreciation.
"If we are to emerge from the long shadows that can engulf us, we must talk with each other, come to understand each other, and renew ourselves and our perceptions of each other.
"The race talk that divides us must stop. Let us put solutions on the table rather than fuel the fires that seek to destroy us as a nation," Warner said.
Read Dr Cudjoe's full Emancipation Day speech
Read the JYOTI editorial: No room for discrimination...
1 comment:
Good for Mr. Warner! I haven't read the professor's article yet, but I will. The purpose of having a nation ought to be to identify with that nation, not by one's ethnic background. That doesn't homogenize ethnicity, rather, it builds a culture of alliedness from which people of 'every creed and race find an equal place'.
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