Freddie Kissoon – “Senza Fine” and the flight of money

May 25, 2008 Freddie Kissoon

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“Senza Fine” (pronounced sensa finay) is one of Italy’s great love songs only sung (as far as I know) in English by Connie Francis. It means, ‘never ending.’ Monica, the daughter of the world famous music composer, Henry Mancini (who gave us the Pink Panther theme), does it the best in the Italian language. The song became famous after it was featured as the theme for an internationally successful movie, “Flight of the Phoenix.” Both the song and the movie have symbolic meaning for understanding where Guyana is going.

Here are some lines from this enchantingly beautiful melody that you can reflect on as the Guyanese phoenix takes daily flight;

Senza fine
Let it always be senza fine
There’s no end to our love, our hopes
Our dreams, our sighs
No end at all
No sad goodbyes
No fears, no tears
No love that dies
It’s senza fine
Let it always be senza fine
Never ending
The sunlit days, the moonlit nights
The sea, the sand, the starlit heights
Are yours and mine forever more.

Everyday in this country, those who cannot leave, and those who choose not to leave keep on dreaming, clingingly dearly to the hope that like the phoenix, Guyana will rise from the ashes. For those people, it is senza fine – no end to our hopes and dreams. This writer is one of them.

But there is the other side of the coin. Everyday, people in this country take flight. Guyana’s tropical romance they leave behind. They turn away from the sea, the sunlit days and moon-lit nights for cold evenings and lugubrious, winter nights. Their starry heights they will enjoy in another country. Maybe in any other country except Guyana.

Some of them we know closely. Some of them we share a strong bond with. Some of them are well loved family members. Many of these wonderful Guyanese we may never see again. As a teacher, you see this flight in its more graphic form than in many other professions. You may work in an office and over the years, maybe a dozen of your colleagues have flown. But as a teacher, hundreds each year pass through your hand, and year after year, you watch them take winged impulse.

One of the phenomenal things I have learnt from being a teacher in this country is the inexplicable human fertility that Guyana is naturally endowed with. Despite the lack of resources in our educational system, this nation continues to produce students that are warm-hearted, learned, philosophical in their outlook and generally embody good values comparable with any other nationality in the world. If Guyana could find a way to make these people remain here, then the phoenix will rise from the ashes. When that would be is anyone’s guess. The future does not look bright.

As soon as someone migrates to colder but richer pastures and leave relatives behind, we hear about the money they will send back. Statistics compiled in the US on remittances showed that last year just over 400M American dollars came into this country by those who took flight. Analysts and commentators have agreed that is has done immense good for Guyana.

But there is a downside version to the movement of money that economists like Professor Clive Thomas and others have to zero in on. Capital flight has been going on in this country since Mr. Hoyte opened up in the economy with his 1989 budget.

The $US400M that this land receives is not the whole story of sweet roses. Lots of money in foreign currency, gold and diamond leave these shores annually. I would say of that $US400M that comes in, you have to subtract over $US100M in both cash and minerals. Remember some years ago a well known established family business in the hardware division had a dispute in a Canadian court involving $2M Canadian. How did that money get to Canada? The offspring of a wealthy family left the country last year and set up a profitable venture in North America. Where did the money come from for him to make that kind of investment?

Do you know how many Guyanese are American citizens and have enterprises here and they transfer the profits abroad. I know one guy who lives in New York. The main operation in Guyana has several branches. He selected his friend to become the CEO. The arrangement is that X amount of American dollars must be banked every month in New York for him. Whatever the CEO makes he can keep once the owner gets his target. And the target is met every month. There are dozens and dozens of arrangements like that. Do you know several established Guyanese business people are living in Florida and have investments there? How did they get the funds to start up their establishments? The answer is simple – for years millions of dollars were being banked outside. Is it possible more money leaves Guyana than what comes in?

Hope you listen to “Senza Fine.” You would love it. Nice song.

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