What is President Granger going to say to GBTI?

NOVEMBER 25, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, FREDDIE KISSOON

On November 24, The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry announced an education saving plan. It is to help parents provide for higher education enrollment through the establishment of an education savings account which matures when the child reaches 18 years. It also earns a higher interest than a normal savings account. The programme was launched with a huge colour advertisement of seven kids walking across their college campus with the knapsacks over their shoulders. Every student is a Caucasian. What is wrong with the image? Well, depending on the perspective of the person looking at it, you can see either a Freudian mind at work or simply an act that has no meaning. A person can say there was nothing Freudian about the decision. The bank just found an image of college kids and used it. But if you think so, then it would be interesting to hear your answers to these questions. If an Italian bank opened a similar operation would it put seven Chinese students in the advertisement? If a Pakistani bank did likewise would the newspaper placement feature seven African students? If a Chinese bank started such a programme would it put seven Arab students in the picture? My answer is no to all three questions. Why? Because there are things that comes naturally to human beings. Why would a pharmaceutical company advertise a formula to make animals live longer and the advertisement has a donkey as the image? It is a thousand percent certain that the animal featured in the image would either be a cat, puppy or horse. Why in non-white Third World Guyana does a local bank offer a favourable savings account plan for higher education, and in the placement in the newspapers are seven Caucasian students, one of whom wears long top boots to her knees? I guess it depends on how you see life. A person may say students are students and it was just an advertisement. Another human may object to it pointing to deep, psychological determinants. On this point, we can look at the 49th Independence Anniversary speech of President Granger. The President described a situation in the advertisement sector during colonial times, in which he said that depending on the type of product or services being highlighted, a dark-skinned person’s face would appear or a White face. He didn’t go into detail, but what he meant was that if the product was toothpaste, you would see the radiant face of a white woman. If it is a new car, you would see a white male model. If it is a new sewing machine, you see a Black woman, perhaps on the heavy side, with her foot on the pedal. I have done several columns on the predominance of Caucasian faces in advertisements whether in the electronic media, print media or the front of store buildings or on the side walls of commercial vehicles or the back door of commercial vans. It is there for the naked eyes to see. Here is a quote from my column of May 12, 2013; “Last Wednesday, we were traveling north on Camp Road and I continued straight instead of swinging into Carifesta Avenue. I noticed a huge billboard of Hand-In-Hand Insurance Company on the fence of the Everest Sport Club. What I saw dazzled my eyes and for a moment I took my eyes off the road and almost drove into the eastern trench of Camp Road. This billboard had a white man dressed in neck tie and suit beckoning readers to patronize Hand-In-Hand. Why a white man? (end of quote). Another commentary was on September 11, 2015 captioned, “Zeitgeist: Colour, race and telephones at Roraima Airways.” I quote from that article; “Chances of getting into a commercial on television or snatching a flight attendant job if you are black-skinned are almost non-existent. The evidence of the death of the zeitgeist when people in Guyana proudly proclaimed that “Black is beautiful” is everywhere. Just look up at the van with the faces on it advertising anything from pen-torch to bath soap to perfume to pen-torch batteries and the faces are all-white. Yesterday on Vlissengen Road this van was in front of me and on the back door facing me directly was the smile of a very light-complexioned couple showcasing the beauty of Lux soap.” (end of quote) I doubt whether President Granger will have a word with GBTI. Presidents don’t do those sorts of things. But I am sure he knows the forties and fifties have returned to Guyana. Are there seven Caucasian students at UG right now?