Next day: “No, no, he is not Guyanese, but he rubbed shoulders with many Guyanese”.  My family and friends ribbed me mercilessly about my ‘true’ Guyanese identity and accused me – in jest - of masquerading as a pseudo-Trinidadian when I real life I was Guyanese-born.

All in fun, I bear no malice or resentment towards anyone, including the Leader and his associate.  They were on radio, waxing warm, interfacing with listeners,   heady with the power and influence associated with being the self-styled ‘only legitimate voice of the Hindu community.’  Seems that not only I am Guyanese but if I am not careful I could be considered an ‘illegitimate Hindu voice.’  Bhai and bahens, this is real bad karma. Ultimately, Bhagavan knows best, Bhagavan Rules.

But, don’t bother about me; I am a citizen of the world. Call me Guyanese, call me Trini, I have been called worse.  The serious issue here is the implied characterization that if you are Guyanese in Trinidad & Tobago, and in several Caribbean islands, you are a lesser mortal; thus you should keep your mouth shut and find your place, possibly amongst the second tier of people in our beloved country.  This is not funny – anti-immigrant rhetoric and xenophobic nationalism are dangerous. for Trinidad and Tobago , and the world.

In 1963, United States President John F Kennedy made a ground-breaking speech in Berlin, in front of a crowd of 120,000 Berliners gathered in front of the Schöneberg Rathaus.  Kennedy had just returned from a visit to one of the Berlin Wall's most notorious crossing points, Checkpoint Charlie. He was watched from the other side of the border by small groups of East Berliners unable even to wave because of the presence of large groups of the East German Police.

"Two thousand years ago," he told the crowd, "the proudest boast in the world was 'civis Romanus sum'. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is 'Ich bin ein Berliner.'” President Kennedy proclaimed “I am a Berliner, I am with you, and I stand in solidarity with you against the authoritarianism and dictatorship of the Soviet Union .”

Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech was seen as a turning point in the Cold War.  It was a major morale booster for West Germans, alarmed by the recently-built Berlin Wall. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall was finally dismantled, piece by piece, communism collapsed and the Iron Curtain fell from Eastern Europe . Germany was re-united in October 1990.

Today, all free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of the world, and therefore, as a free man, as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago , I take pride in the words, 'Ich bin ein Guyanese'. I am a Guyanese.

I stand in solidarity with Guyanese, and people of all nationalities, across the world, in defiance of bigotry and prejudice, and in advocacy of democracy, freedom of the individual, freedom of the media, the independence of the Judiciary, and the rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, irrespective of race, religion, nationality, and political affiliation.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. ”

—Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Deosaran Bisnath,

Member, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
President, GOPIO Trinidad & Tobago
PRO, HCU Depositors & Shareholders Group (HCUDSG)
Editor, International Jahajee Journal

deobisnath@yahoo.com