The President Irfaan Ali administration’s refusal to meet with a delegation of American politicians, business executives, and civil society representatives over the contentious matter of racial discrimination, primarily against Afro-Guyanese, has left the delegation disappointed. The government has consistently denied the allegations of racial discrimination.
Following a meeting with Dr. Ali in 2021, Team Leader and former Georgia Black Caucus Chair Dee Dawkins-Haigler said at a press conference that “we have received numerous concerns” and that is why she and other representatives were returning to perform an evaluation. He declined to meet with this delegation, which was ” really surprising to us” the speaker stated.
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In August, a team from the Guyana administration, headed by President Ali, visited Washington, DC, to reassure American decision-makers that there was no prejudice and that Guyanese people from all walks of life were benefiting from various projects.
While declaring her “high regard” for the Guyanese leader, Ms. Dawkins-Haigler also refuted claims made by the government that her independent team was connected to the Guyanese opposition activist Rickford Burke, based in the United States, who had organized the Guyana Conference in Washington, DC, in mid-September. At a news conference conducted at the Critchlow Labour College, she stated, “No one on this delegation has ever met Rickford Burke in person and none of these people that is sitting beside me has ever had a conversation with him.”
Prior to its arrival, the mission released a statement stating that it was responding to concerns expressed by David Patterson, Catherine Hughes, and attorney Roysdale Forde. When asked where those concerns had been brought up, Ms. Dawkins Haigler responded that they had “come back and forth to New York City” and attended a number of conferences in Washington, DC, where they had met with representatives Hakeem Jeffries, Yvette Clarke, and Maxine Waters, among others. Statements like this are being made for all Guyanese, not only Afro-Guyanese or Portuguese. There are several people who have expressed their dissatisfaction with the unfair system in Guyana, she shared.
Mr. Burke has denied knowing or being connected to any of the team members. He has frequently charged the People’s Progressive Party Civic, which is mostly supported by Indo-Guyanese, with discriminating against Afro-Guyanese. “Without any evidence, basis or fact, the Government recklessly claimed that Mr. Burke wrote the mission’s terms of reference and has pre-written a report. Neither Mr. Burke nor anyone else from CGID (Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy) knows or has ever met these legislators. Only a hopelessly deceitful, reckless, and paranoid government can demonstrate such audacious mendacity,” CGID noted.
Ms. Dawkins-Haigler aimed to reassure the government of Guyana that “we have no animosity towards the President for not meeting because he has that right as the sovereign leader to meet or not meet with any group as he deems necessary” and was prepared to have discussions with the government. She added that no one had funded any of the delegation members to travel to Guyana. She refuted claims that the team was meddling in internal matters of Guyana and said they would not have come to grasp the circumstances of the country’s people of color even if they had not been invited.
At the end of the mission, she said a report would be compiled and presented a report to the United Nations, Black Caucus, White House, State Department, Congress, and the National Black Caucus of State legislators. She hoped that her team would be able to meet with the administration so that its perspectives could be included in that report.
According to Ms. Dawkins-Haigler, the accusations included unequal treatment in the legal system, unequal treatment in the distribution of finances, biased contract awards based on an individual’s race, political affiliation, or public criticism of the government, and educational inequalities. She stated that some of the assertions were supported by documentation that raised “very alarming” concerns.
In addition to listening to their worries and looking at local and international reports to gauge the level of their deprivation and future expectations, the group is scheduled to visit New Amsterdam, Linden, and Moch-Arcadia.
