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Guyana
impressions MY FATHER would be very pleased that I pen this letter to highlight some of the achievements of President Bharrat Jagdeo. Since the 1950s, my father has been active in politics and an ardent
supporter of Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Much of his time and money was spent behind the PPP. He organized in
the past several events such as horse racing and fairs (Melas) to raise
money for the PPP. The famous Bush Lot Farm Fair was one of those events
graced by the presence of Rita Cristina and Dolly Baksh. At one time Dr. Jagan slept at his house in late 1960’s at Bush Lot
Village, Corentyne, during the mayhem when the PNC stole the ballot boxes.
No one could forget that Dr. Jagan eat Hassar curry at our home. I was not around then I believe. My father was an active supporter of
the party while in the United States and in 1991 returned to Guyana where he is
serving his countrymen. Coming from a generation of honest men who lived like blood brothers
born from indentured immigrants, money can’t buy the Molais, Kharags,
Kennards and Chickeries; they are honourable people. He defended the peasants using his own resources to get an injunction
to stop the sale of land that took place during the prior government. Many
farmers living at Maida Village, Corentyne, and Berbice looked up to him
and urged him to defend their property from being confiscated. The Neemak
Harams failed in their attempt to
sell our people. They went to court, and under oath swore that these
farmers were squatters and not natives of Maida, but justice
prevailed. My father refused that fat bribe to sell his people for some US dollars
and was not intimidated by the gun that the briber came with. When the PPP came to power in 1992, it supported the farmers claim,
because Dr. Jagan himself knew these people, including my father, who
lived at Maida since it was owned by the Amin and Ahmad Sankar
brothers. My father once was the manager of the Maida Estate. Amin and Ahmad
Sankar are the brothers of my great grandmother, Batulan Khan. After a brief visit to Suriname and Guyana a week ago, I am convinced
that the physical and health infrastructures of Guyana have improved. More
people have access to running water and electricity which was absent
during my childhood in Guyana. Guyana was
bankrupted in 1984 when I left and most people did not have access to
running water and electricity. Even the harshest critic must admit that
the PPP has made many positive changes in Guyana. Take for example the highway from the Cheddi International Airport to
Georgetown -- it has been expanded and resurfaced and the journey can be
completed in 45 minutes from the capital. Then from Georgetown to Rosignol all minor rivers have been bridged to
international standards and that journey can be competed in less than two
hours. From Rosignol to Corentyne, Berbice, it takes another one hour
because two boats are working to ferry passengers and vehicles on the
Berbice River, but this can be improved once it is privatised. A new hospital has been built in New Amsterdam, Berbice by the Japanese
Government and the Port Mourant Hospital is being modernised. Cuba has
promised to build an eye-care centre there and hopefully in the near
future basic eye surgery can be done in Guyana. And talking about Cuba -- I met a group of them who were sent by
President Castro to replace old bulbs with new energy saving ones. Cuban
Social Worker, Mr. Alex Santiesteban says, “We are saving the government
of Guyana about
three million dollars (USD) a year in energy with these new bulbs free of
cost to the Guyanese public from the Cuban people.” This group has been working from my father’s home in upper Berbice. My
father, Esar Chickerie, the NDC Chairman and Ms. Zalesha Sachawat,
Assistant Chairwoman, have devoted much of their life to the welfare and
development of their people. They work tirelessly for the
underdogs. They both had many praises for Berbice Parliamentarian, Mr. Zulfikar
Mustapha who they said is “a man of action,” who works hard to please his
constituencies. Most of Guyana’s debt has been
cancelled by the international community though the arduous efforts of
President Jagdeo. The international airport has been modernised to regional standards; however there needs to be more improvements physically and administratively.
Nothing moved, and the place was packed with passengers. Eventually, I
made some noise and three more workers crawled to their posts arguing with
passengers and further delaying the process. I guess they were liming and not aware when international flights were
arriving. The episode did not end there. Some days later, on April 21st,
on a Meta Flight from Paramaribo to Georgetown, which arrived at CBJIA at
about 7pm, the same fiasco was repeated. I had to make some noise again. Where are the supervisors? Who
supervise these people? I have pictures to prove that these are not allegations but facts. This
is where Guyana is in stark difference with
its neighbours; there is no customer service, and service in all sectors
is “rude and crude.” The mini-buses have improved their service somewhat; however, the
police are still harassing these drivers demanding a “towel.” That means a
thousand dollars. This I saw first hand on my last trip to Guyana, and drivers are ethnically
profiled. The area around Parliament needs to be further beautified and the car
park removed from the inner city to the outskirts of Georgetown. The waterfront needs to be developed and the squatters must go. We need
recreational areas for families to sit under trees and umbrellas admiring
the Demerara River while sipping coffee or tea, responded the proprietor
of a bookstore in Georgetown. Not every Guyanese wants to converge at the sea wall or at Sheriff
Street to “wine and go down.” Where are the visionaries? Georgetown looks cleaner and more attractive; however, much more can be
achieved in this area. Its citizens need to take pride and help to keep
the country clean. Then again most are waiting to migrate or to get a “raise” from
families who are abroad. They have lost faith in Guyana. Mayhem and savagery have engulfed the country. If you kill the middle
class of a country, that country is doomed. Guyanese visitors to Suriname are shocked to see the racial harmony
that exists there. Peace and stability in Suriname coupled with good
fiscal policies have led to an economic boom. Business is booming and much
of that is due to the participation of Surinamese moving back from Holland
or investing from Holland. Besides expatriates, Europeans, Dutch and French are now visiting
Suriname. You see them at cafes, restaurants, hotels, at the waterfront,
and at the various plantations that have been turned into tourist attractions. From French Guyana (France) a steady flow of tourists visit Suriname
bringing vital Euro dollars that are helping to improve that country’s
economy. Above all, it’s the Surinamese expatriates among some Europeans who are
opening up businesses and establishing NGOs to develop that country. They
have faith in Suriname, but Guyana is not so blessed because racial
conflict is eating away Guyana like a cancer. Rumour has it in Suriname that the international tribunal looking at
the Guyana /Suriname Maritime dispute will rule in favour of Guyana.
Hopefully, they will not force Guyana and Suriname to share the wealth
because they will never agree on anything according to a member of the
Surinamese government who wants to remain anonymous. That person also reveals that the road from South Drain to Nickerie
will be modernised. The money is there and work will commence
soon. This will bring an end to that overland horror journey from Guyana to
Suriname. It was also here in Suriname that I learnt about the
Netherlands’ offer to microfiche all Dutch records at the Guyana
Archives. Quite surprisingly, they revealed that Guyana refused because
they did not want to send the records to Holland for this modern
process. Holland is not in the business of stealing national treasures. Before
the documents are destroyed why not take up the Dutch offer? They are building a state of the art archives for Suriname. Also, the
Inter-American Development Bank has allotted funds to bridge the three
Guyanas. Bridges over the Corantijn and the Marowjine rivers will link all
the Guyanas and South America. It’s a question of who has the vision and the stamina to get the paper
work done so that this dream can materialise.
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