CLUTCHING AT STRAWS


The announcement by Government that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Fedders Lloyd, a reputable Indian company, relating to the Specialty Hospital project, has attracted several negative comments. During the life of the last government, the then Opposition consisting of both the AFC and APNU had refused to support the Specialty Hospital. The AFC’s opposition was founded on the suspect award of the contract to Surendra Engineering, a spare parts supplier, rather than Fedders Lloyd, which had a track record in the construction of such facilities and had made the lowest bid. APNU argued that Guyana needed improved primary care centres, rather than a specialized facility. One high official suggested that ‘Indians’ were ‘taking over.’ Chinese and Brazilian immigrants, who should be applauded for their valuable contributions to Guyana, were spared.

The Specialty Hospital project was good for Guyana and I strongly supported it at the time and criticized the Opposition, including for dragging ethnic considerations into the issue. I believed that their reasons for opposing the project were unjustified. Now that the Government has reversed its position and signed on to the project, it ought to be congratulated. I look forward to a similar reversal on the Amaila Hydropower Project.

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NOVEMBER 22 AND 23


Two of Guyana’s cultural and artistic giants were born on November 22 and 23 respectively. To celebrate their birthdays, they got together on the 22nd celebrated through the night until the 23rd so that both birthdays would be given due recognition. I heard the story twice from Stanley Greaves. The first was at an exhibition of new paintings, ‘Dialogue with Wilson Harris,’ in November last year at Castellani House in celebration of his 80th birthday. I heard it again in a brief address by Stanley at a book launching last Monday on the life of the late Wordsworth McAndrew, in which he again related the story. We can only assume that these annual events inspired them to greater achievements.

Roy Brummel, a widely known educator and folklorist himself, wrote a book, ‘Mih Buddybo Mac’ (My Brother Mac), Part 1, on the life and work of Wordsworth McAndrew, and introduced it to the Guyanese public at Moray House last Monday evening.  He also introduced his novel, Halfway Tree, a must read. Roy’s biography of Wordsworth, his novel, the works of Stanley Greaves and of Wordworth McAndrew, show that although circumstances have taken them far from Guyana, Guyana has never been far from them, as Roy said. The creative impetus, inspired by the homeland and the common heritage, remained intact.

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GAWU’S NEW, MILITANT, MODE.


The recent three-day general strike in the sugar industry, called by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), protesting the delay by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) in initiating wage talks, signals a return to militancy of Guyana’s largest and most influential trade union. GAWU’s history of militancy dates from the 1940s when, under anther name, it came under the influence of militants who later became leaders of the PPP. GAWU’s grueling, thirty-year struggle, for recognition, which followed an epic strike in two parts in 1977, defined it as a leader and symbol of working class struggle for justice, independence and democracy.

This militancy declined dramatically from 1992 onwards when the PPP/C was first elected to office. During the first half of PPP administrations, GAWU’s demands on behalf of sugar workers were treated with sympathy, even though the union may not have secured all that it asked for. The future of the industry and benefits for workers looked promising. The union’s militancy declined.

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JAGDEO PROPOSED JUDICIAL SOLUTION TO CHAVEZ IN 2010


In his recent interview on Venezuela, former president Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo spoke about his administration’s approach to resolving the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela. He said that the PPP administration had considered five options for resolving it but he mentioned only one, namely, an outlet to the Atlantic for Venezuela.

Mr. Jadgeo questioned the ‘juridical’ route being proposed by the government on the ground that it may not materialize because of the need for Venezuela’s consent. In addition, he warned that if the parties accepted a judicial solution, the involvement of the United Nations in the process might somehow be impaired. He urged that Guyana ought not to take a position that would have such a consequence because it was vital, in his view, that the Secretary General should remain involved in the process. “I am not questioning the juridical route, I am just saying that it is very important to keep the UN involved in the process,” he advised. This was repeated several times in the interview. But Mr. Jagdeo never mentioned, contrary to the dangers he now perceives and to his current advice, that he proposed to President Chavez as far back as July 21, 2010, at their meeting in Caracas that serious consideration should be given to having the controversy resolved legally through the International Court of Justice(“ICJ”).

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LET’S HAVE TWO HOLIDAYS FOR DIWALI


Diwali is celebrated by Hindus to signify the victories of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair. These victories were achieved by the return of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshman from fourteen years of exile. The lights are intended to illuminate the path of their return to Ayodhya. The event provides a time to emphasize both external and internal purity, extending goodwill and undertaking religious observances, all in aid of enlightenment. Apart from Lord Rama, other deities are also worshipped.

The above is a truncated explanation of an expansive, multi-religious, multi-faceted, autumn celebration that has deep historical roots and wide religious significance for about one and a half billion people. For example, it is not only Hindus, but also Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists who celebrate Diwali. Sikhs celebrate the release from prison of Guru Hargobind and 52 princes in 1619. Jains celebrate the anniversary of Lord Mahavir’s attainment of freedom from the cycle of reincarnation as well as his teachings on compassion, justice and the promotion of social, political and economic equity. Buddhists mark the occasion as the time when Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism.

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