By Nazima Raghubir
Aviation Security expert and entrepreneur Harold Hopkinson’s call for inclusivity and acceptance for queer people stems from a personal relationship that changed his life and perspective many moons ago. On Monday, Hopkinson while addressing the European Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Herdmanston Lodge recalled a candid conversation with one of his sons decades ago, “I supported my son Quincy when he came out to me in 1998,” Hopkinson told the small gathering, “he was 20 years old and with his father’s acceptance, my son was able to shine and rise, even though he had to leave Guyana in 2005 to be accepted by the world,” Hopkinson said. The well-known sharpshooter and racer is a father of seven and founder of Secure Innovations & Concepts Inc. Hopkinson, who was at the time endorsing the Guyana Together campaign, explained that his acceptance was not only important for his son but for their relationship, “he flourished for he knew his father accepted him and that, to him, was the first manifestation of true love, and he was able to use that as the tool against the world that did not accept him”.
Guyana remains one of the few countries in South America with laws that crimminalises same sex relations between men. Hopkinson pointed out that same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Law (Offences) Act 1893, a law passed some 132 years ago. “This law was inherited from the British during the colonial period, in which the English criminal law was imposed and accepted,” he explained, “Guyana retained this law after Independence in 1966 and continues to criminalise same-sex sexual activity from the colonial-era 1893 statute today,” which Hopkinson classified as a “clear breach of international human rights law”.
Hopkinson told the gathering of mainly entrepreneurs and diplomats that criminalisation violates the right to non-discrimination of LGBT people as well as other fundamental rights such as the rights to privacy, legal recognition, humane treatment, expression, association, and assembly. “As a father, I want all of my children to have an equal opportunity to work hard and build a good life for themselves and their families,” he declared, “as a business owner, I also know that success comes from building communities and affiliations where everyone feels welcome and can contribute, not pushing people away due to their sexual orientation”.
Hopkinson feels that repealing the particular law will help to fight discrimination, add to a growing workforce and complement Guyana’s economic growth, “for us to compete and succeed, we as a nation need every capable person contributing to our growth – including our LGBT citizens,” he pointed out, “as a parent I know the pain of having a child move a broad because he feels that more opportunities may be available elsewhere,” a teary eye Hopkinson said, “discrimination doesn’t just hurt people, it hurts families and it hurts our country’s economy. There are statistics that show, the brain drain and talent that is lost, is hurting us as a developing country”.
The Guyana Together is a grassroots campaign, promoting public education effort to increase acceptance levels among Guyanese and reduce the level of stigma and prejudice for LGBT+ Guyanese. The campaign focuses on sharing the stories of LGBT+ people who have found acceptance and support from family, co-workers, neighbours, friends and religious leaders among others. Guyana Together hopes to start a nationwide conversation about how each of us can help to make change in terms of unity for the Guyana we ALL love. Together, these efforts will help to reveal and strengthen Guyana’s majority support for repealing the discriminatory laws that criminalise consensual intimacy between adult men in private.
Read compelling stories from the campaign here: https://guyanatogether.gy/