THE last two members of the recently formed Ethnic Relations Commission were sworn-in yesterday before President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Presidential Secretariat in Georgetown.
Mr. Shahabudin McDoom, member, and Mrs. Leila Austin, substitute member, pledged to work to bring racial harmony in the country while serving on the Commission, a Constitutional body.
They join 12 others who have already been sworn-in - Pandit Ramkissoon Maharaj, Mr. Roy Thakurdyal, Mr. Shafeek Khan, Dr. Frank Anthony, Dr. Rajendra Singh, Mr. Andrew Garnett, Mr. Carvil Duncan, Mr. Norman McLean, Mr. John Willems, Bishop Juan Edghill, Mr. R.K Sharma and Ms. Cheryl Sampson.
A Chairman is yet to be elected.
Austin yesterday told reporters her main duty would be to change people’s behaviour through education and working with the Government, politicians, the media and other sections of society to achieve more racial harmony.
She also pledged to look at specifically at how women have been affected.
Shahabudin observed that race is “burning issue” in this country.
“I believe that it’s even more important than perhaps the Government and more important than the economics because both of those rely on race. If we can’t cooperate, our economy will suffer, our people would all leave and so there would be no country left,” he remarked.
Shahabudin said the race issue has been “engineered” throughout history and is unnatural.
“This country could be a paradise and the main bug bear of that paradise is racial hatred and the exploitation by politicians of race. I appeal to all my dear fellow Guyanese that we must somehow stamp out anybody who is going to exploit race,” he appealed.
Shahabudin pointed out that what has happened in Guyana is not the kind of racial prejudice that is known in the West but “exploitation by people who are cheap, who want to get benefit for themselves…”.
“I appeal to the Guyanese people to ensure that does not happen if they want to see this country a paradise,” he added.
The Commission is expected to be the sounding board of the society, seeking to do all things possible to establish and promote better ethnic relations in the society.