A handful of persons who identified themselves as supporters of the People’s Progressive Party in Guyana, braved the freezing temperatures in New York on Sunday afternoon to picket a fundraising event in Queens New York for the APNU+AFC coalition.
Queens is home to thousands of Guyanese migrants, mostly Indo Guyanese and one section of the community is called Little Guyana because of the thousands of Guyanese born residents.
The borough has for years been a stomping ground for the People’s Progressive Party, but on Sunday it became a meeting point for the APNU+AFC.
About 20 persons with their placards gathered outside Naresha’s Palace where the coalition’s meeting was taking place. Even though at times, their voices were drowned by the loud beating of tassa drums which were used to welcome attendees to the meeting, the small group remained loud for close to two hours as hundreds of persons arrived for the fundraising event.
“Granger is a danger, we nah want him in Guyana”, one protester shouted as he waved his large white placard at attendees. Another protester who admitted that he had not been back to Guyana in over 15 years loudly proclaimed that “the PPP is good for Guyana and they doing good. We don’t want Moses nor Granger. Moses sell we out and we just don’t want Granger”.
Most of the protesters centred their chants at Prime Ministerial Candidate Moses Nagamootoo who is a former executive member of the PPP. Some of the protesters shouted out that he was “ungrateful” to the PPP.
At one stage, persons heading into the meeting got into light arguments with the protesters. One man declared “you people ought to be ashamed of yourself. What do you know about what is taking place in Guyana. I am Cheddi Jagan’s cousin, his mom and my mom are sisters and that nonsense that is taking place in that country, he would not have approved of. The PPP is no longer about Cheddi, you folks need to wake up, put those cards down and come listen”.
A passionate APNU+AFC supporter got upset when she saw the placards being waved and heard the chants and she turned around to the protesters and shouted ‘Why the hell don’t you people go back to Guyana if you are so satisfied with what the PPP is doing there? Go back home, don’t stay here. If Guyana is so good, pack your bags, leave New York and head back home”. The protesters went silent for a brief moment as the woman made her point clear. They restarted their chants as she hurried inside.
An elderly Queens resident who is also Guyanese, walked up to the protesters waving a copy of the Kaieteur News with the mansion of former President Jagdeo and told the protesters that “this man done rape that country, look what he doing and ya’ll got the time to protest for him? He and the PPP are no good”.
The protesters continued their picket exercise as guests and supporters continued to arrive. The protests began when Nagamootoo was already in the all and when Granger arrived, his vehicle was drove straight into the compound, as his security team avoided any confrontation.
As the protesters shouted that they want the PPP to stay in office in Guyana, another APNU+AFC supporter told them that they ought to be grateful for the freedoms of the United States, since in Guyana today, protesters are shot dead for using their voice for their own cause.
Inside the meeting, APNU+AFC Prime Ministerial Candidate Moses Nagamootoo said the cold New York winds were meant for the protesters. He noted that all over the world, it is the opposition that protests the government but in Guyana and in Queens, it is the PPP government that finds it necessary to protest against the opposition.
The meeting went ahead and lasted for just over three hours. Some of the same protesters on the outside, left their placards in their trunks and went into the meeting to listen to the two candidates as they outlined their vision for Guyana.
Coverage of Campaign on the Road, Guyana Elections 2015 Compliments of Fly Jamaica Airways
Filed: 23rd March, 2015
You must be logged in to post a comment Login